“The operation to liberate Sherqat started at 5:30 am (0230 GMT) from several directions. with the support of coalition forces”, Joint Operations Command spokesman Yahya Rasool said.
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Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, speaking from NY after a meeting with 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 administration considers Abadi to be an improvement over the sectarian approach of predecessor Nouri al-Maliki.
Abadi, in an optimistic tone, said the two leaders hoped the IS will be driven out of Mosul “within the next few months”. The Democratic presidential nominee was holding her own program of meetings with foreign leaders attending the United Nations summit as she works to portray herself as more presidential than Republican Donald Trump. Last month, the head of the USA military’s Central Command voiced confidence that Iraq was on track to meet its objective, should Abadi choose to go forward as planned.
He said he hoped there would be progress by the end of the year.
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.
DHS said in an emailed statement that an initial review of these cases suggest that some of the individuals may have ultimately qualified for citizenship, and that the lack of digital fingerprint records does not necessarily mean they committed fraud.
The president also held a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in which both countries condemned North Korea’s recent nuclear test and pledged closer coordination on addressing the nuclear threat from Pyongyang. The White House said they discussed climate change, the refugee crisis and the fight against the east Africa-based militant group al-Shabab.
The 22-page “New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants”, is not legally binding and lacks concrete commitments but calls on countries to protect refugees’ human rights, boost humanitarian aid and increase resettlement of refugees.
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“Hopefully, by the end of this year, we will have seen further progress with respect to Mosul”, Obama told reporters after his meeting with Abadi on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in NY.
