Iraq – Conflict – Mosul
Thu Mar 24, 2016 14:18:09
Iraqi troops and militia launched a long-awaited operation on Thursday to recapture second city Mosul from terrorists of the Islamic State (ISIS / Daesh / ISIL) group who have held it since June 2014, the military said.
The army and the Popular Mobilization paramilitary force “have begun the first phase of conquest operations” in Nineveh province, of which Mosul is the capital, the joint operations command said in a statement.
Several districts have already been retaken and the advance is continuing, the statement added.
The joint operations command has representatives from the US-led coalition that has provided air support, training and military advisers for the Iraqi army.
Peshmerga fighters of Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region have also been heavily involved in the campaign against ISIS in northern Iraq.
Hundreds of Iraqi soldiers deployed to the Kurdish region in February in readiness for the assault on Mosul, setting up base in the Arbil province town of Makhmur, around 70 kilometers (45 miles) southeast of Mosul.
“Iraq forces in Makhmur have begun their advance towards Al-Qiyyara to the south of Mosul,” the Peshmerga deputy commander for the sector, Araz Mirkhan, told AFP.
“The advance has allowed us to liberate four or five villages from the Daesh terrorists,” he added, using an Arabic acronym for ISIS, AFP reported.
S/SH 11
string(1862) "[{"id":"1796140","sort":"3517883","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2016/03/06/alalam_635929008798548103_25f_4x3.mp4","title":"VIDEO: Iraqi Army Begins New Operation to Retake Key Region in Ramadi"} ,{"id":"1796733","sort":"3517884","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2016/03/08/alalam_635930514864418334_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Iraqi Army Troops Retake Key Region in Anbar from ISIS"} ,{"id":"1797091","sort":"3517885","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2016/03/09/alalam_635931327110528193_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Iraqi Army Troops Kill 22 ISIS Militants in Anbar, Diyala"} ,{"id":"1798058","sort":"3517886","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2016/03/12/alalam_635934000027870628_25f_4x3.mp4","title":"VIDEO: Iraqi Army Liberates 2 Areas in Western Ramadi, 20 ISIS Militants Killed"} ,{"id":"1798337","sort":"3517887","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2016/03/13/alalam_635934842771804601_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Iraqi Army Troops, Popular Committees Kill 75 ISIS Terrorists"} ,{"id":"1798961","sort":"3517888","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2016/03/15/alalam_635936337938813375_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Iraqi Army Troops Kill 60 ISIS Terrorists in Nineveh"} ,{"id":"1799814","sort":"3517889","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2016/03/17/alalam_635938378533824160_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Iraqi Army Troops Advance Further into ISIS Bastion in Anbar"} ,{"id":"1800639","sort":"3517890","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2016/03/20/alalam_635940953085198021_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Iraqi Army Troops Thwart ISIS Assault on Haditha, Kill 30 Militants in Anbar"} ,{"id":"1800829","sort":"3517891","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2016/03/21/alalam_635941606513349327_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Iraqi Army Regains Albu Obeid Area in East of Ramadi"} ,{"id":"1800875","sort":"3517892","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2016/03/21/alalam_635941750635679964_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Iraqi Army Finds Body of ISIS Commander Al-Shishani"} ]"