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Iraqi forces gain ground in march to retake militant-held Mosul

Wednesday, 29 June 2016 5:09 AM [ Last Update: Thursday, 30 June 2016 2:47 AM ]

Iraqi police forces pose for a photograph in Fallujah after army soldiers and their allies retook the city from the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group, June 28, 2016. (Photo by AFP)

Iraqi security forces have made new gains on the ground against the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group as they are trying to recapture the country’s second-largest city of Mosul from the terrorists.

On Tuesday, elite counter-terrorism forces and Popular Mobilization fighters retook control over Telol al-Baj area, which lies on the highway linking the town of al-Shirqat, situated about 250 kilometers (155 miles) north of the capital, Baghdad, to the southern part of Mosul, Alforat news agency reported.

“Security personnel have liberated Telol al-Baj, and several units have been deployed four kilometers (2.4 miles) away from the area to prevent the infiltration of vehicles rigged with explosives into the region,” said Lieutenant General Abdul Ghani al-Assadi, the commander of Iraq’s counterterrorism forces.

He said the Iraqi forces had inflicted heavy losses on the ranks of Daesh terrorists in Telol al-Baj.

Iraqi pro-government forces also engaged Daesh extremists in other parts of the northern Nineveh Province, killing scores of the Takfiris.

Fighters from the Popular Mobilization Units flash the V-sign as they patrol a street in recently-liberated Fallujah, June 28, 2016. (Photo by AFP)

Elsewhere, in the western province of al-Anbar, Iraqi security forces retook Halabisa and Albu Alwan areas on the outskirts of Fallujah, located roughly 69 kilometers (43 miles) west of Baghdad, and raised the national Iraqi flag in both regions.

On June 18, Iraqi forces launched an offensive against Daesh terrorists to retake the southern part of Mosul and the town of Qayyarah, one day after they retook Fallujah. The forces aim to ultimately recapture the entire Mosul, which Daesh has proclaimed its headquarters in Iraq.

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

Iraqi government forces, backed by fighters from allied Popular Mobilization Units, have been pushing the militants out of the country’s territory.

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