Army and tribal forces pushed towards Sherqat, a town IS fighters took more than two years ago when they swept across Iraq’s Sunni Arab heartland. 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.
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Iraqi security forces and allied units have been battling IS militants for retaking large territories in northern and western Iraq that was seized by the IS since June 2014.
ABOARD A U.S. MILITARY AIRCRAFT Iraq’s forces for its long-awaited push on Mosul will be ready in October, the top U.S. general said on Monday, in the latest sign that a full-fledged campaign to recapture the city from Islamic State is fast approaching.
“The operation to liberate Sherqat started at 5.30am from several directions. with the support of coalition forces”, Joint Operations Command spokesman Yahya Rasool said.
The session comes at a critical time for Obama, who has just a few months left in office to make progress against IS before passing on the conflict to his successor. Along with the de facto capital in the Syrian city of Raqqa, it’s one of two strongholds that the USA and allied forces plan to pressure in simultaneous assaults that it hopes will cripple the terrorist group’s military power in the region.
Iraqi officials said a combination of Iraqi military, police and USA coalition air support began the assault on Shirqat at dawn, securing five villages on the outskirts within hours.
Militia leaders have said the abuses are isolated incidents.
Accurate numbers for the population remaining in the city are hard to come by but the United Nations and other officials have said up to one million civilians may still be living under IS rule in the Mosul area.
“Clearing that area makes sure that their supply lines are protected”, he said. U.S. forces may move “in and out” of the bases rather than locate there consistently, one official said.
It also includes less powerful Sunni tribal forces supporting the government against ISIL.
U.S. President Barack Obama said on Monday that the battle against the Islamic State militant group in Mosul would be challenging but he was confident it would move forward rapidly.
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. It also means the battle for Mosul may be raging during the USA presidential election, with U.S. forces facing dangers on the battlefield.
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“These operations pave the way for cleansing every inch of Iraqi land and God willing its end will be the liberation of Mosul city, . the liberation of all Iraqi lands and the end of Daesh”, he said, using an Arabic acronym for Islamic State.
