Iraq continues Mosul drive despite defense minister’s ouster
BAGHDAD: Iraq’s security forces continue to gear up for a longawaited operation to retake the Daesh-held city of Mosul. But they will be doing so without the minister of defense who has presided over most of the military’s recent successes against the militants.
Khaled Al-Obeidi was abruptly dismissed by a parliamentary noconfidence vote Thursday after weeks of political wrangling over dueling allegations of corruption with the Parliament Speaker Salim Al-Jabouri. The allegations of corruption were quickly exploited by a handful of Iraq’s powerful political blocs looking to weaken Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi by removing one of his key Sunni allies.
Neither Al- Jabouri’s nor Al-Obeidi’s allegations of corruption have been publicly proven.
Al-Obeidi’s removal came just over a month after the minister of interior’s resignation was accepted, leaving Iraq without two key security officials as the country prepares for what is expected to be the most complicated fight yet in the anti-Daesh campaign. Interior Minister Mohammed Al-Ghabban submitted his resignation in early July amid mounting anger following a massive truck bombing claimed by IS in central Baghdad that killed more than 300 people.
So far Al-Abadi has kept largely quiet on Al-Obeidi’s dismissal. His office told The Associated Press that it will not affect ongoing military campaigns.
On the ground, operations in advance of an assault on Mosul have continued uninterrupted by the political shake up, according to Ministry of Defense spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Rasool and a senior Ministry of Defense official.