Iraq army moves to oust ISIL from Mosul

Four villages regained in first phase of offensive to isolate and then retake militant-held capital of Nineveh province

BAGHDAD // The Iraqi army and allied militias yesterday launched what is expected to be a long and difficult offensive to retake the second city of Mosul, ISIL’s main hub in Iraq.

The army and the Popular Mobilisation paramilitary force began “the first phase of conquest operations” in the northern Nineveh province, of which Mosul is the capital, Iraq’s joint operations command said. The assault was launched from the Makhmour area, where thousands of Iraqi forces have deployed in recent weeks alongside Kurdish peshmerga and US forces, about 60 kilometres south of Mosul.

Backed by air power from the US- led coalition of western and Arab states, and by the peshmerga, Iraqi troops advanced at dawn. The joint operations command said four villages were taken between Makhmour and Qayyarah on the Tigris river, an ISIL hub connecting Mosul with its stronghold of Hawija farther east.

Iraqi prime minister Haider Al Abadi said the move had been “swift and decisive”. “Daesh is in retreat,” he tweeted. Peshmerga commander Najat Ali said Iraqi forces took a cou- ple of villages without any resistance but ISIL put up a fight in two others, and set oil ablaze to produce smoke as a shield against coalition air strikes.

A military statement cited by Iraqi state TV said the advance was the first phase in an operation to liberate Nineveh province. It urged civilians to stay away from buildings used by extremists because they would be targeted. The army did not say how long this phase of the operation was expected to take.

The joint operations command is coordinating the battle by Iraqi security forces to retake the areas of the country seized by ISIL during a lightning offensive in 2014. It includes representatives from the US- led coalition that has provided air support, training and military advisers for the Iraqi army.

Experts have said that any battle to retake Mosul would be difficult, given the number of militants and civilians in the city and the time ISIL has had to prepare defences. Iraqi forces are expected to cut off supply lines to Mosul before launching an assault on the city.