A joint operation carried out by Iraqi forces and Kurdish Peshmerga troops has “liberated” a 200km2 area around Mosul from so-called Islamic State, stated Iraqi Kurdistan President Masoud Barzani.
Barzani made the announcement on Monday, following the launch of a major operation to free Iraq’s second largest city from the armed group, which has held it since 2014, reported Al Jazeera.
“Today is a turning point in the war against terrorism. This is the first time that Peshmerga forces and the Iraqi army have cooperated and fought in the same area,” Barzani said during a press conference near Mosul.
“TURKEY WILL BE AT TABLE FOR MOSUL TALKS”
Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that Turkey would not only participate in the ongoing Mosul operation against IS in Iraq but would also “be at the table for talks,” reported Anadolu Agency.
He added: “It is impossible for us to stay out of it because there lies history for us. Turkey is not responsible for the results of an operation that it does not participate in.”
The much-anticipated Mosul offensive to liberate the city from IS began midnight on Sunday.
Erdogan also added that the “brothers of Turkey” – Arabs, Turkmens and Kurdish civilians – were currently in Mosul.
Referring to a Turkish-manned military facility close to Mosul, Erdogan affirmed: “Nobody can expect us to leave Bashiqa.”
He added: “We trained Iraqi soldiers in Bashiqa camp, as well as Peshmerga for them to fight against Daesh [Arabic acronym for IS]. If these fighters had not been there, there would not have been [any] decent troops to fight.”
SHIA-SUNNI CONCERNS
In an address on state television, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi stated that only the Iraqi army and police would be allowed into the city and called on residents to be in solidarity with their security forces.
There had been concerns that Shia Muslim militias fighting against IS could be involved in the Mosul operation and cause sectarian tension among the city’s Sunni inhabitants.
Reports on Monday said that the Iraqi army was gradually advancing toward Mosul, which officials in Baghdad vowed to liberate by the end of the year.
Other reports say that ISIS terrorist vow to strike with suicide attacks.
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