KIRKUK: The Iraqi Army is deploying thousands of soldiers to a northern base in preparation for operations to retake the Daesh group’s hub of Mosul, officials said on Monday.
Daesh seized Mosul in June 2014 and except for air strikes has held Iraq’s second city largely unopposed for more than 18 months as the country’s security forces battled the terrorists in other areas.
“Units from the Iraqi army have begun arriving to a military base near the Makhmur district to start launching initial military operations toward Mosul,” a staff brigadier general told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Makhmur lies around 70 km southeast of Mosul.
“There are three brigades located in that base now,” and their number will eventually reach 4,500 soldiers, said the officer, who is part of the security command tasked with retaking Nineveh province, of which Mosul is the capital. Iraqi forces recaptured Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, west of Baghdad, in December in a major blow to the terrorists.
But Mosul is expected to be the most difficult battle of Iraq’s war against Daesh due to its size, the presence of large numbers of civilians in the city, and the long period the terrorists have had to prepare defenses.
It is the largest city held by Daesh, and along with Raqqa in Syria is one of the two main hubs for the terrorist operations.
The initial aim is to sever Daesh supply lines between Mosul and areas farther south including Hawijah in Kirkuk province and areas near Baiji in Salaheddin, the army officer said.
Lt. Gen. Sean MacFarland, the commander of the US-led operation against IS, has said that Iraqi generals do not think they will be able to recapture Mosul until the end of 2016 or early 2017 at the earliest.
A Kurdish official said that most of the soldiers deployed to Makhmur, which is located within territory controlled by Iraqi Kurdistan, are ethnic Kurds from the Iraqi Army.
Daesh seized Mosul in June 2014 and except for air strikes has held Iraq’s second city largely unopposed for more than 18 months as the country’s security forces battled the terrorists in other areas.
“Units from the Iraqi army have begun arriving to a military base near the Makhmur district to start launching initial military operations toward Mosul,” a staff brigadier general told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Makhmur lies around 70 km southeast of Mosul.
“There are three brigades located in that base now,” and their number will eventually reach 4,500 soldiers, said the officer, who is part of the security command tasked with retaking Nineveh province, of which Mosul is the capital. Iraqi forces recaptured Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, west of Baghdad, in December in a major blow to the terrorists.
But Mosul is expected to be the most difficult battle of Iraq’s war against Daesh due to its size, the presence of large numbers of civilians in the city, and the long period the terrorists have had to prepare defenses.
It is the largest city held by Daesh, and along with Raqqa in Syria is one of the two main hubs for the terrorist operations.
The initial aim is to sever Daesh supply lines between Mosul and areas farther south including Hawijah in Kirkuk province and areas near Baiji in Salaheddin, the army officer said.
Lt. Gen. Sean MacFarland, the commander of the US-led operation against IS, has said that Iraqi generals do not think they will be able to recapture Mosul until the end of 2016 or early 2017 at the earliest.
A Kurdish official said that most of the soldiers deployed to Makhmur, which is located within territory controlled by Iraqi Kurdistan, are ethnic Kurds from the Iraqi Army.
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