Daesh losing main bastion in Iraq: Pundit

Press TV has interviewed Zayd al-Isa, a Middle East expert from London, and Nabil Mikhail, a professor at the George Washington University, to discuss Iraqi pro-government forces’ push to retake Mosul from Daesh militants.

Isa said the recapturing of Mosul as Iraq's second largest city will be considered a major blow to Daesh, because the city is the power base or bastion of the Takfiri group and is used as a launchpad to send terrorists to destabilize Baghdad and other areas in Iraq.

Losing Mosul is a devastating blow to Daesh, he said, because the group would lose what it calls the capital of its Khilafa. Thus, the Daesh terrorists have been fiercely resisting the fall of cities and towns near Mosul, because they are well aware that the liberation of Mosul by pro-government forces will be a major blow to their presence in Iraq.

The Iraqi army and fighters from the Popular Mobilization Units are engaged in a joint operation to retake militant-held regions, in particular Mosul.

Iraq’s Joint Operations Command, in a statement released on Tuesday, announced that elite counter-terrorism forces had gained control over the villages of Huwaysh, al-Jawa’enah, Jebelah and al-Ghaziyah, which lie in the Qayyar region, south of Mosul.

Isa said Saudi Arabia is the main supporter of Takfiri terrorist groups in Iraq, adding the non-democratic Saudi regime attempts to convey the message that any democracy in the region would result in insecurity and civil war.

Pointing to the role of regional and international players in Iraq's security, he noted the United States dragged its feet when Daesh seized parts of the Arab country, but Iran played a constructive role by supporting the Iraqi government in the face of the terrorists.

He also said there is a dispute between military and political administration in the US over how to react to developments in Iraq and Syria when it comes to the role played by Russia and Iran in both war-stricken Arab countries.

Meanwhile, Mikhail told Press TV's program 'The Debate' that retaking Mosul would be a major blow to Daesh in Iraq, but that the question of “What will happen afterward?” would still remain.

He also said the situation would largely depend on the decisions made by the government in Baghdad, adding Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi must promote unity between Arabs and non-Arabs.

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 the Arab country, including Shias, Sunnis, Kurds and Christians.

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