Iraqi forces reach Syria border from western Mosul

Iraqi forces have advanced from western Mosul in Nineveh province to the border with Syria, a military source told Anadolu on Monday. “Popular Mobilisation Forces have now reached the village of Um Greis on the Syrian border,” claimed Lieutenant Jabbar Hasan.

The units, known in Arabic as Al-Hashd Al-Shaabi, are a mainly Shia militia backed by Iran. They were incorporated into the Iraqi armed forces last year.

“Um Greis is the first point along the border to be reached by Iraqi forces from Mosul since mid-2014,” Hasan explained. That was when Daesh extremists overran vast swathes of territory in northern and western Iraq, including Mosul. Since then, however, the Iraqi army and its allies have managed to recapture most of this territory.

According to Hasan, Iraqi forces are now gearing up for a large-scale military push aimed at securing the entire region between Mosul and Iraq’s western Anbar province. The Iraqi air force, he said, is expected to provide the looming ground operation with air cover.

Read: Iraq’s Iran-backed paramilitary advances towards Syria border

In a related development, an Iraqi police source said that Daesh militants had executed 18 civilians in Mosul. “They were captured by Daesh terrorists while attempting to flee the Old City and were killed immediately,” noted Saad Muhawis.

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Since October last year, Iraqi government forces have been waging large-scale military operations aimed at driving Daesh from Mosul, the terrorist group’s last major stronghold in northern Iraq.