The town of Bashiqa has been surrounded by Kurdish forces known as Peshmerga for weeks.

Monday's push is the most serious to drive ISIS out from the area, which is about 13 kilometers (eight miles) northeast of Mosul.

Kurdish forces launched mortar rounds and fired heavy artillery into the town on Sunday in advance of the offensive.

The three-week-long Mosul offensive has slowed down in recent days as Iraqi forces have pushed into more densely populated areas of the city.

Later Veteran Peshmerga commander Kaka Hama told rudaw over 70% of plan to liberate Bashiqa successfully implemented .

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