The 3.6 km long dam, built by a German-Italian consortium in the 1980s, is a vital water and power source for Mosul, Iraq's largest northern city of 1.7 million residents.
Islamic State insurgents who captured swathes of Iraq and Syria and declared a caliphate, wrested control of the dam from Kurdish forces in recent weeks.
After a three-day battle, Kurdish and Iraqi forces, with the help of US air strikes, recaptured the dam on Monday, August 18.
“There was a fierce battle between Peshmerga forces and IS militants, and we were able to control the dam. The IS militants planted bombs around the dam, so the engineering brigade defused those bombs and the Peshmerga forces are in full control of the dam,” Mansour Barzani, Kurdish military commander said.
Pentagon said US aircraft conducted 14 air strikes in the vicinity of the Mosul Dam, destroying or damaging militants' Humvees, trucks and explosives.
There were fears that the militants could damage the dam, which can hold more than 11 billion cubic meters of water.
But although Iraqi and Kurdish forces recaptured the dam, it still has the potential for catastrophe.
The dam, about 45-50 km north of Mosul, was built on the wrong kind of geological foundation, which included gypsum - a soft substance which is the main element in plaster and not solid enough to handle the weight of the dam.
The bleakest scenario foresees a complete breach that could unleash a tidal wave that would submerge Mosul under 25-30 meters of water and kill up to half a million people. Baghdad could be under 5 meters of water. REUTERS