Former Iraq foreign minister spells out 'formidable' IS threat

Hoshyar Zebari, a Kurd who until last month was Iraq's foreign minister, has outlined the "formidable" international threat that militant group the Islamic State (IS) poses.

Mr Zebari told the BBC's Jim Muir that the Peshmerga (armed Kurdish fighters) were "encountering fierce resistance, bombs on the roadside, suicide bombers and so on.

"The Peshmerga forces are pushing and taking the fight to them to clear the dam," he said.

He said the next objective was to clear the Nineveh plain "to ensure the return of minorities".