Iraqi forces take nine villages from Daesh west of Mosul

Iraqi forces have managed to liberate several villages near Mosul from the grip of the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group as part of larger operations to fully recapture the northern city.

The commander of Nineveh Liberation Operation, Lieutenant General Abdul Amir Yarallah Lieutenant General Abdul Amir Yarallah, said Popular Mobilization Units, known as Hashd al-Sha’abi, purged six villages, west of the city, of Daesh terrorists on Sunday.

According to Iraq’s Shafaq News website, Yarallah added that Daesh terrorists lost the villages of Hazimiyah al-Janubiyah, Moshayrfat al-Jisr, Zaid al-Mos’ab, Yassin al-Halbous, Tal Maidan Qoly and al-Bota al-Gharbiyah.

Some 450 families were also evacuated from Yassin al-Halbous village, west of Tal Abta district.

The terrorists suffered heavy losses in the military operations, the report added.

Meanwhile, Iraq’s al-Sumaria news website said the Iraqi Badr Organization announced the liberation of three other villages west of Mosul.

The organization said in a statement on Sunday that the villages of Tal Ghazal, Tal Majan and Shwira have been purged of Daesh, adding that Iraqi forces managed to thwart a terrorist attack targeting the troops advancing in the area.

The organization added that 163 civilians have been evacuated from the villages.

The Iraqi forces also found a workshop for booby-trapping vehicles and explosive devices in the liberated villages.

The developments come as part of operations launched by Iraqi Hashd al-Sha’abi forces in the areas to the west of Tal Afar in western Nineveh Province on Sunday. The operations aim to purge the villages and areas which are still under Daesh control and to regain control of the roads connecting the areas west of Mosul.

The Iraqi army and volunteer fighters have been leading a large offensive to retake Mosul since October 17.

The northern city of Mosul fell to Daesh in 2014, when the terror outfit began its campaign of death and destruction in the Arab country.

Also on Sunday, Iraq’s anti-terrorism forces took control of the neighborhood of Nour in the left bank of Mosul.

Shafaq News reported on Monday that the Daesh terrorists, along with their families, began to flee the neighborhood of al-Zera’i, al-Mohandessin and al-Thaqafi in northern Mosul towards the right side of the city.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has vowed that Mosul would be fully recaptured by the end of 2016.

Iraqi forces unearth mass grave south of Mosul

In another development on Sunday, First-Lieutenant Saied al-Moselhi told Anadolu News Agency that the army found 15 corpses thrown into a well in the village of Saf al-Tout of al-Shura district, 40 kilometers south of Mosul.

He added based on initial information the 15 people were massacred by Daesh terrorists.

Meanwhile, War Media Cell said the Iraqi security forces, backed by residents, found the remains of some people killed by Daesh in the Hammam al-Alil district, south of Mosul.

The northern and western parts of Iraq have been plagued by gruesome violence ever since Daesh terrorists mounted an offensive in June 2014.

The militants have been committing vicious crimes against all ethnic and religious communities in Iraq, including Shias, Sunnis, Kurds and Christians.

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