As Iraqi forces prepare to launch their offensive to retake west Mosul, at least six villages were retaken from ISIS militants near the area.
The campaign’s commander Lt. Gen. Abdul Amir Rasheed Yarallah confirmed in a statement on Sunday that factions from the federal forces were able to recapture the key village of Athba, situated on the main road connecting Mosul to Baghdad.
Iraqi government forces last month cleared the eastern side, and while fewer people than feared fled their homes, the UN said a total of 217,000 people have been displaced since the broader Mosul operation started on October 17.
It also said a total of 57,000 had already returned to their homes.
-
Some Iraqis are risking it all to spy on ISIS militants in Mosul
The Iraqi intelligence agent knew something was wrong. An Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) member working for him as an informant in the city of ... Features -
ISIS command center ‘destroyed’ in Mosul, ISIS says civilians killed
The US-led military coalition on Saturday said its forces destroyed a building in the main medical complex of western Mosul, suspected to house an ... Middle East -
French militant Rachid Kassim ‘killed in Mosul’
Kassim is believed to have inspired an attack last year in which a senior French policeman and his partner were knifed to death Middle East -
UN sees Mosul assault driving out 250,000 civilians
Such an exodus would be on top of roughly 162,000 people already displaced by Iraqi government efforts to retake the city Middle East