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Iraqi forces liberate southern Mosul village from Daesh grip

Thursday, 20 July 2017 12:56 PM [ Last Update: Thursday, 20 July 2017 2:10 PM ]

Iraqi federal police forces celebrate in the Old City of Mosul on July 10, 2017 after the government's announcement of the liberation of the embattled city from Daesh terrorists. (Photo by AFP)

Iraqi forces have managed to retake a village, situated south of the recently-liberated city of Mosul, in their latest push to rid the whole country of Daesh terrorists.

Iraqi Police Colonel Kareem Aboud announced on Thursday the full recapture of the Imam Gharbi village by the government forces.

The bodies of two Iraqi journalists, who were executed by militants, were also discovered during the liberation operation, he said, noting that the Iraqi troops were now searching Imam Gharbi for remaining Takfiri elements.

Stripped of Mosul, the Daesh terrorists are now resorting to different tactics to block the Iraqi soldiers’ advances.

The Iraqi forces liberated Imam Gharbi several months ago, but earlier this month, dozens of Daesh militants armed with machine guns and mortars crossed the Tigris River and attacked the village.

An Iraqi security source estimated lately that Daesh held 60 percent of Imam Gharbi.

"The notion of a caliphate is gone. The dream is gone. They will revert back to their old tactics of hit and run attacks," said senior Kurdish official and former Iraqi foreign minister Hoshyar Zebari.

Daesh proclaimed Mosul as its “capital” in Iraq in 2014, when the outfit began a campaign of terror in the Arab country. The Iraqi army soldiers and allied volunteer fighters launched a large-scale, multi-front offensive to liberate Mosul in October 2016.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi attends the Mosul liberation celebration, in Baghdad, Iraq, July 15, 2017. (Photo by Reuters)

They took control of eastern Mosul in January and launched the battle in the west in February. The more difficult battle was the fight for western Mosul — with its narrow streets and tightly packed Old City. Daesh elements resorted to bombings, sniper fire, and mortar attacks to slow the advances of the Iraqi forces.

Nevertheless, Iraqi forces finally liberated the entire city earlier this month.

The Mosul battle displaced more than a million people, but nearly 200,000 have returned home, according to the latest UN figures.

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