MOSUL, Iraq, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) — Iraqi security forces on Wednesday continued their advance to the edges of the city of Mosul and freed 13 villages from the Islamic State (IS) militants, as part of a campaign to drive out the extremist group from its last major stronghold in Iraq.
The Iraqi and federal police forces made a significant advance south of Mosul when the troops recaptured eight villages and came closer to the town of Hammam al-Alil, some 20 km south of Mosul, a source form the Joint Operations Command (JOC) told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
The paramilitary Hashd Shaabi units recaptured five villages as they advanced in southwest of Mosul toward the town of Tal Afar, some 100 km west of Mosul, the source said.
Three more villages were surrounded by the Hashd Shaabi fighters, the source said, adding that the villages are expected to be freed in the coming hours.
The paramilitary units fought fierce clashes with the IS militants during their advance, killing a large number of IS militants and destroying five car bombs, the source added.
The operation of the pre-dominantly Shiite Hashd Shaabi units was designed to recapture Tal Afar in order to cut off the supply lines between Mosul and neighboring Syria.
In eastern Mosul, the elite counter-terrorism forces did not advance further into the eastern side of the city, as their battles continued during the day to clear the eastern district of Gogjali from small pockets of IS militants, the source said.
On Tuesday, the counter-terrorism forces took control of the state television building after seizing Gogjali district the day before.
Wednesday’s battles came after more than two weeks of a massive offensive to dislodge IS militants from Mosul.
On Oct. 17, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced the start of a major offensive to retake Mosul, the country’s second largest city.
Since then, the Iraqi security forces have inched to the eastern fringes of Mosul and made progress on other routes around the city, preparing for a major battle to storm the city and drive out IS militants.
Mosul, some 400 km north of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, has been under IS control since June 2014, when Iraqi government forces abandoned their weapons and fled, enabling IS militants to take control of parts of Iraq’s northern and western regions.
(Photo: BBC)
