Didn’t the Peshmerga hinder them?
A couple of skirmishes, but ISIS have not really advanced against the Kurds in their controlled region. Not much reason to either. Malaki is the target.
Yes, but the territory the Pesh are fighting over doesn’t do much to cut the Mosul-Baghdad route. The Peshmerga are holding in Kirkuk, and from what I read recently, mounted an offensive on Jalula. Kirkuk is southeast of Mosul and Northeast of Tikrit, and can be avoided if your goal is to link Baghdad and Mosul.