The most critical phase of the battle likely will come after Islamic State fighters have been forced from the city, when the Iraqis will have to begin the hard process of rebuilding and governing the region.
Advertisement
ISIL seized Iraq’s second largest city in July 2014 when Iraqi forces retreated, leaving the city vulnerable to the terror group that has maintained its grip ever since.
The Iraqi Army and tribal-led forces on September 20 pushed toward Shirqat, in Saladin Province, 260 kilometers northwest of Baghdad. A human rights advocate said the arrest of Afghan-born US citizen Ahmad Khan Rahami in connection with the bombings should not fuel the misconception that accepting more refugees will lead to more terrorist acts.
The spokesman for the Joint-Operation Command, Yahya Rasool, said that special counter-terrorist troops and Sunni combatants from the Hashed al-Ashaeri (Tribal Mobilization) were decisive in the operation, supported by the US-led worldwide coalition.
“We are making good progress”, he told AFP. “We’re very anxious that we won’t be able to prepare in time” for the Mosul battle, she said in a statement.
The operations in the province came as the Iraqi security forces and allied units are fighting to drive IS militants out of the province after they reclaimed key cities and towns, including the provincial capital of Ramadi, some 110 km west of Baghdad, the source said.
With air support from a USA -led coalition, the troops are now less than 3 km (2 miles) from the town center, according to Dawdah, who said he expected the campaign to be concluded within 48 hours. U.S. forces may move “in and out” of the bases rather than locate there consistently, one official said.
“Clearing that area makes sure that their supply lines are protected”, he said. The US forces will not be on the front lines but will be out in the field with Iraqi units, officials said. The White House said they discussed climate change, the refugee crisis and the fight against the east Africa-based militant group al-Shabab.
It also includes less powerful Sunni tribal forces supporting the government against IS.
Ahmed al-Assadi, the spokesman of the Hashed al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilisation) paramilitary force, also announced the operation.
After meeting with Abadi in NY on Monday, U.S. President Barack Obama said he hoped for progress on Mosul by the end of the year. But he professed confidence that more territory can be wrested from the militants, in part because he said “the Iraqi forces are getting more confident”.
For both leaders, moving quickly to retake Mosul is part of a strategy to sustain the momentum that Iraq and its partners have finally built up after years of struggled.
The jihadists have also lost ground in Syria and Libya.
Iraqi forces have already reconquered other towns north of Sherqat on the way to Mosul but the question of Shiite militia involvement in military operations there had held up the push.
Advertisement
After meeting with Abadi in NY on Monday, U.S. President Barack Obama said he hoped for progress by the end of the year on Mosul. Still, Obama said he and Abadi were confident that Iraq’s military and the USA -led coalition could make progress in Mosul “fairly rapidly”, adding that he was hoping for progress by year-end.
