It came a day after a top U.S. general said the long-awaited push on Mosul by Iraqi forces will be ready in October.
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Rasool highlighted that the Iraqi Armed Forces can not move forward into Mosul while as along as terrorists keep control of Shergat, and recalled that they had already regained control of other towns in the north of that locality. Shergat is on the western bank of the Tigris River, in the northern province of Salaheddin, around 20 kilometers northwest from Baghdad and around 80 kilometers south from Mosul.
With air support from a USA -led coalition, the troops are now less than 3 km from the town center, according to Dawdah, who said he expected the campaign to be concluded within 48 hours.
File picture shows Iraqi security forces waiting for vehicles to travel to Mosul to fight against militants of Islamic State at an Iraqi army base in Camp Taji in Baghdad, Iraq February 21, 2016.
Brig. Yehia Rasool, chief spokesman for Iraq’s military, denied any Shiite militias were involved in Tuesday’s campaign.
IS seized Mosul, Iraq’s cosmopolitan and religiously mixed second city, in a lightning offensive through the north and west of the country.
Dunford’s statement is the clearest sign from a senior United States military official that the military battle for Mosul could soon begin once the Iraqis make the political decision to proceed. The only militias involved were Sunni tribal fighters from the area, he said. “Sherqat is important, we can’t move on Mosul and have terrorists control Sherqat”.
It also includes less powerful Sunni tribal forces supporting the government against IS.
Ahmed Al Assadi, the spokesman of the Hashed Al Shaabi – or the Popular Mobilisation – paramilitary force, also announced the operation.
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, speaking from NY where he met US President Barack Obama, said the same operation also included efforts to flush out IS fighters from desert areas near Ramadi and Heet in the western province of Anbar. The US forces will not be on the front lines but will be out in the field with Iraqi units, officials said.
Iraqi forces have been moving northwards from Baghdad for nearly two years, gradually retaking areas over which IS declared its “caliphate” in June 2014.
Cooperation between Iraq’s numerous fighting forces has in part slowed the start of the highly-anticipated operation on Mosul.
The US and dozens of its allies have been striking purported Daesh targets in both Iraq and Syria since 2014 with negligible success. It also means the battle for Mosul may be raging during the U.S. presidential election, with USA forces facing dangers on the battlefield.
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The Pentagon estimates 3,000 to 4,500 IS fighters are in Mosul.
