Off the wire
• Celta are brave, but Sevilla book Cup final place  • 3rd adult died from Zika virus in Brazil: health ministry  • Urgent: U.S. stocks decline following global rout  • Roundup: Scientists detect gravitational waves 100 years after Einstein's prediction  • Belarus totally against new confrontations, dividing lines in Europe  • Israeli PM names new head of security agency  • 1st LD Writethru: Gold rises to highest level in year as U.S. equities fall sharply  • Russia to continue its snap military drills: Putin  • S. African gov't committed to developing nuclear energy: president  • Central banks's influence on interest rates greatly diminished  
You are here: 　 Home

Iraqi forces preparing to free Mosul from IS

Xinhua, February 12, 2016 Adjust font size:

New Iraqi army units have arrived in the semi-autonomous northern region of Kurdistan preparing to free the city of Mosul, the second-largest Iraqi city, from the Islamic State, a military officer said on Thursday.

Troops, weapons and equipment have arrived in Makhmour area, just south of Mosul, for an offensive to liberate Nineveh province where Mosul is the capital, according to Major General Najim al-Jubouri, commander of Free Nineveh Operations Command.

The troops have moved to northern Iraq on orders by Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi who is also the commander-in-chief of the Iraqi armed forces, Jubouri said, adding that they have prepared 13 safe routes for the civilians in the IS-held city of Mosul once the offensive begins.

The operations to free Mosul and other IS-held parts of Nineveh province will be carried out by the Iraqi army, Kurdish security forces known as Peshmerga, and U.S.-led coalition, with participation of paramilitary units from local volunteers, including Sunni Arab tribesmen, the commander said.

Iraqi officials and military commanders have frequently said that the battle to free Mosul, which was captured by IS militants in June 2014, is very soon, while media reports quoted U.S. military officials as saying that the preparations need months to be fulfilled. Endit