Up to 900 militants killed in Mosul: US
arbil (Iraq) — The United States said on Thursday that up to 900 Daesh militants have been killed in the offensive to retake Mosul, as camps around the city filled with fleeing civilians.
Iraqis who fled their homes expressed joy at escaping Daesh’s brutal rule as they were given shelter and assistance, in some cases reuniting with relatives they had not seen in more than two years.
Backed with air and ground support from a US-led coalition, federal forces allied with Kurdish peshmerga fighters have taken a string of towns and villages in a cautious but steady advance.
General Joseph Votel, who heads the US military’s Central Command, said on Thursday that the offensive was inflicting a heavy toll on the militants.
“Just in the operations over the last week and a half associated with people have been displaced since battle for Mosul began Mosul, we estimate they’ve probably killed about 800-900 Daesh fighters,” Votel said in an interview.
At a camp in Khazir, about midway between Mosul and the Iraqi Kurdish capital Arbil, Massud Ismail Hassan peered through a chainlink fence, looking for family members as peshmerga fighters registered the displaced.
“Once all these procedures are finished we will be able to give them food and drink and blankets we brought with us,” he said. — AFP