THE SHRINKING ‘CALIPHATE’

Air force helps Shiite paramilitary forces to capture Baaj, reducing the militants’ hold of northern region in bid for the city

Iraqi town of Baaj falls to anti-ISIL militias as focus on Mosul sharpens,

BAGHDAD // Shiite paramilitaries have captured the Iraqi town of Baaj from ISIL, further shrinking the northern region under the militants’ control as part of a US-backed campaign to retake the city of Mosul.

The Shiite paramilitaries, known as the Popular Mobilisation Forces, announced the “total liberation” of the Baaj district “with support from the air force”.

“The Iraqi flag has been hoisted above its buildings,” said the Popular Mobilisation Forces, an umbrella group for pro-government paramilitaries that is dominated by Iran-backed militias.

Eight months into the Mosul offensive, ISIL militants have been dislodged from the entire city, except an enclave along the western bank of the Tigris river.

ISIL’s grip on the Iraqi side of the northern region along the border with Syria, a desert area where Iraqi and US sources believe ISIL leader Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi is hiding, has been ebbing as pro-government forces have advanced.

The Iraqi air force provided cover for the thrust into Baaj, said the Iraqi joint operations command.

On May 12, Popular Mobilisation forces launched an operation to retake the Qayrawan and Baaj areas west of Mosul, Iraq’s second city. On May 23, the forces announced they had retaken Qay- rawan. Both areas are in Nineveh, the province of which Mosul is the capital, and lie between territory under ISIL control in Iraq and Syria. The Popular Mobilisation Forces is steered by Iran but also plays a part in the campaign to defeat ISIL. Iraqi government armed forces are focusing their effort on dislodging insurgents from remaining pockets in Mosul, which has been ISIL’s de-facto capital in Iraq since 2014.

While reporting nominally to Iraq’s Shiite-led government, the Popular Mobilisation Forces has Iranian military advisers, one of whom died last month fighting near Baaj.

Securing border territory between Iraq and Syria is important for Iran to reopen a land route to supply Syrian president Bashar Al Assad’s army with weapons in his protracted war with rebels and militants. Abu Mahdi Al Muhandis, a prominent leader of the paramilitary umbrella group with long-standing ties to Iran, announced the capture of Baaj.

Iran has helped to train and organise thousands of Shiite militiamen from Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan in Syria’s war. Fighters from Lebanon’s Shiite Hizbollah are also working closely with Iranian military commanders in Syria.

US and Iraqi officials believe that Al Baghdadi has left operational commanders behind with diehard followers to fight on in Mosul and is now focusing on his own survival.

Iraqi forces backed by the USled coalition have been battling to oust ISIL from Mosul since last October. They are advancing on the last areas of the city still held by ISIL, but the presence of large numbers of civilians is slowing their progress.

A leader of the paramilitary group with ties to Iran announced the capture of Baaj