ISIS to Lose its Capital in Iraq-Mosul- as Iraqi Forces Retake Qayyarah

ISIS to Lose its Capital in Iraq-Mosul- as Iraqi Forces Retake Qayyarah
Tue Aug 23, 2016 16:05:23

Iraqi special forces led an operation on Tuesday aimed at retaking the jihadist-held town of Qayyarah, a key staging base for operations to attack Mosul, military sources said.

US-led coalition aircraft provided support, said Bashar, the spokesman for the operations command in Nineveh, the province in which Qayyarah and Mosul are located.

'The operation is ongoing and currently achieving its goals,' CTS spokesman Sabah al-Noman said.

'Qayyarah will be cleared and the operation wrapped up quickly, bolstering our plans... for the final battle to liberate Mosul,' he told AFP.

He said Iraqi forces had been working with armed residents inside the town for this offensive, a rare occurrence.

'There has been coordination with groups of armed residents inside,' Noman said, declining to provide further details.

Iraqi forces have spent weeks positioning themselves around the town, which is expected to be used as a launchpad for a broader operation against Mosul in the coming weeks or months.

Saleh al-Juburi, the mayor of Qayyarah district, said around 15,000 civilians were believed to be trapped under ISIS rule in the Qayyarah area.

'There are plans to bring food and medical supplies to those who are still in their homes and did not manage to escape Qayyarah,' he told AFP.

After retaking Fallujah, west of Baghdad, in June, the main focus of Iraqi security forces is Mosul, which is the country's second city and ISIS's de facto capital in Iraq, Daily Mail reported.

212

 

Category:
string(1612) "[{"id":"1852410","sort":"3609992","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2016/08/20/alalam_636073032595259749_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"ISIS Prepares Children Army to Conduct Suicide Attack in Iraq, Syria"} ,{"id":"1852835","sort":"3609991","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2016/08/21/alalam_636073894433166630_25f_4x3.mp4","title":"Mosul Liberation Beginning of Stability, Peace, National Unity in Iraq: Shamkhani"} ,{"id":"1852965","sort":"3609990","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2016/08/21/alalam_636074135845925833_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"PHOTOS: ISIS Executes Several Own Commanders in Iraq’s Kirkuk for Defection"} ,{"id":"1853137","sort":"3609989","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2016/08/22/alalam_636074651406543775_25f_4x3.mp4","title":"VID: Iraq Executes ISIS Terrorists Responsible for Camp Speicher Massacre"} ,{"id":"1853170","sort":"3609988","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2016/08/22/alalam_636074713509597655_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"VIDEO: Former ISIS Sex Slave on Global Mission to Seek Justice for Yazidis in Iraq, Syria"} ,{"id":"1853218","sort":"3609987","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2016/08/22/alalam_636074826799694499_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"VIDEO Shows Arrest and Defusing ISIS 12 Years Old Suicide Bomber in Iraq"} ,{"id":"1853283","sort":"3609986","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2016/08/22/alalam_636074932842089321_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Iraq Security Forces Raid ISIS Members’ House near Baghdad, Kill 3 Terrorists"} ,{"id":"1853294","sort":"3609985","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2016/08/22/alalam_636074955408895521_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"PHOTOS: Extent of Devastation in Recently Liberated City of Ramadi, Iraq"} ]"