Iraqi forces continue anti-IS operation near Mosul

The Iraqi security forces on Tuesday continued their advance in south and west of the city of Mosul, as fierce battles continued in the city to drive out the Islamic State (IS) militants from their last major stronghold in Iraq.

In west of Mosul, the Shiite Hashd Shaabi paramilitary units continued their advance in the vast rugged land in west of Mosul toward the town of Tal-Afar, some 70 km west of Mosul, and managed to recaptured six villages after clashes with the IS militants, Lieutenant General Abdul-Amir Yarallah from the Joint Operations Command said in a statement.

The paramilitary units fought fierce clashes with the IS militants during the advance, killing dozens of them and destroying seven booby-trapped cars, along with seizing a large cache of weapons and mortar rounds, Yarallah said.

Tuesday's advance brought the paramilitary units to about 18 kilometers from the airport of the tow of Tal Afar, Yarallah said, asserting that the recapture of the airport will enable the troops to use it as a launching pad to free Tal Afar.

Tal Afar, which used to have majority of both Sunni and Shiite Turkoman villagers, as well as other minorities of Kurds and Arabs, fell to IS in 2014.

The advance of the pre-dominantly Shiite paramilitary units was aimed to cut off the supply lines between Mosul and neighboring Syria, but such advance in the ethnically mixed region where Sunni Muslims form a majority, could spark sectarian tension with Sunni Arabs and neighboring Sunni state of Turkey.

In south of Mosul, the Iraqi army and federal police surrounded the IS held village of Albu Saif, located some six kilometers from Mosul airport at the southern edge of the city, a source from the Operations Command of Nineveh Liberation told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

In Mosul, the army pushed further into the southeastern districts of Intisar, Jadidat al-Mufti, al-Salam, Younis al-Sab'awi amid fierce clashes with the extremist militants in the eastern side of the city, locally known as left bank of the Tigris River, the source said.

In eastern the city, the commandos of the Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) continued clearing operation in the districts of Aden, Baker, al-Dahabiyah and Khadraa, the source added, without giving further details.

The battles in and around Mosul are part of a major offensive announced by Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Oct. 17 to retake Mosul, the country's second largest city.

Since then, the Iraqi security forces have inched to the eastern fringes of Mosul and made progress on other routes around the city.

Early in the month, hundreds of the CTS commandos and Iraqi army made a significant progress from three directions at the eastern side of Mosul and managed to recapture some 10 districts, so far, out of about 60 districts on both sides of the city.

Mosul, some 400 km north of Iraqi capital of Baghdad, has been under IS control since June 2014, when Iraqi government forces abandoned their weapons and fled, enabling IS militants to take control of parts of Iraq's northern and western regions. Endit