Iraq forces retake key town south of Mosul

Qayrarah / AFP

Iraqi forces backed by coalition air strikes on Thursday pushed the IS group from Qayyarah, a northern town considered strategic for any future offensive against the jihadists’ last stronghold of Mosul. “We control all parts of the town and managed, in very limited time, to root out IS ,” Lieutenant General Riyadh Jalal Tawfik, who commands Iraq’s ground forces, said.
The commander said engineering units were now clearing the town, which lies about 60 kilometres (35 miles) south of Mosul, of unexploded ordnance and booby traps. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi issued a statement hailing what he said was a key step towards reclaiming Mosul, IS’s de facto Iraq capital and the country’s second city. “Our heroic forces achieved a big victory, an important step towards the liberation of Mosul,” Abadi said.