Iraqi PM al-Abadi Announces South Mosul Opertation to Retake Shirqat

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced Tuesday that a military operation to retake Shirqat from Daesh (also known as ISIL and ISIS) would be launched in the area 100 km (60 miles) south of the terrorist group’s Mosul stronghold.

In a televised message from New York where he is attending the United Nations General Assembly, Iraqi PM said that Iraqi forces would also move to retake two areas in western Anbar province.

“These operations pave the way for cleansing every inch of Iraqi land and God willing its end will be the liberation of Mosul city, … the liberation of all Iraqi lands and the end of ISIS,” he said.

The regular and volunteer forces had already surrounded the town, where tens of thousands of civilians are believed to have been trapped by Daesh.

Iraq has been facing the growing threat of terrorism, mainly posed by the Daesh terrorist group.

Daesh militants made advances in northern and western Iraq over the summer of 2014, after capturing swaths of northern Syria.

The Iraqi army is gearing up for a major offensive in to purge Daesh from Mosul, the country’s second city. Iraqi forces have managed to wrest control of several areas in the southern parts of the city.