London, Sep 7 (IANS): The US Sunday carried out a series of air strikes against Islamic State (IS) militants close to a key dam in western Iraq, BBC reported.

The US strikes, the first in the area, were to protect the Iraqi forces and Sunni tribesmen who were in control of the Haditha dam in Anbar province.

The Haditha dam is Iraq's second largest dam, which the IS militants have so far failed to capture.

The air strikes started Friday when US forces attacked IS militants in northern Iraq and continued Saturday.

The US warplanes have conducted a total of 133 air strikes in northern Iraq since Aug 8.

Meanwhile, Kurdish forces in northern Iraq recaptured the strategically important Mt. Zartak, which overlooks a plain that stretches to Mosul, the city seized by IS in June.

According to the UN, at least 5,576 civilians have been killed and 11,666 injured in Iraq since the IS, previously known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS), captured large swathes of territories in Iraq and Syria in June.

More than 600,000 people have been displaced since the beginning of the militants offensive.