Clearing the town of militants would help the troops march closer to Mosul, some 60 miles away and the last major city held by Islamic State and its self-declared capital in the country, which American and Iraqi officials say will be liberated in a planned joint offensive before the end of the year.
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About 1 million people could be displaced by the battle in Mosul, U.S. and United Nations officials say.
The group has been working hard this month to dig a two-metre by two-metre trench along the city’s perimeter and position oil tanks nearby to create a river of fire that would impede advancing troops and hinder aerial surveillance, according to senior Iraq military officers, Mosul residents, and local officials based outside the city. “We’re very anxious that we won’t be able to prepare in time” for the Mosul battle, she said in a statement.
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. The administration considers Abadi to be an improvement over the sectarian approach of predecessor Nouri al-Maliki.
Obama also spoke with Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta by phone in lieu of a face-to-face meeting.
The issue of what to do about the world’s 65.3 million displaced people took center stage at the U.N. General Assembly with leaders from the 193 member states taking part in the first-ever summit on Addressing Large Movements of Refugees and Migrants.
“These operations pave the way for cleansing every inch of Iraqi land and, God willing, its end will be the liberation of Mosul city”, he said.
Later this week, Obama will have meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, and Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced on Sunday about Iraq’s refusal to “dictate terms” during the talks that took place recently with the International Monetary Fund, noting that the Iraqi delegation presented to the fund a plan to reform the economic system in the country.
He said that once the Mosul operation is finished, it will be necessary to rebuild the city to prevent militants and extremists from returning.
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The defeat exposed deep flaws in Iraq’s military, but since then a US-led coalition has sent military advisers and attack jets to bolster the government side. These bases are in addition to the large Iraqi base south of Mosul at Qayyarah, where hundreds of United States troops are already located to assist with supplies, logistics and support for the Iraqi forces. Still, Obama said he and Abadi were confident that Iraq’s military and the US -led coalition could make progress in Mosul “fairly rapidly”, adding that he was hoping for progress by year-end.
