Iraqi media quoted Karim al-Nouri as saying that representatives from the ministries of defense and interior as well as the Iraqi Air Force will attend the meetings of the special operations room (SOR).

The SOR has started its activity and that the popular forces are fully prepared to start the "decisive" operation to retake the city of Mosul from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) terrorist group, he added.

ISIL militants made swift advances in much of northern and western Iraq over the last summer, after capturing large swaths of northern Syria.

In June 2014, the ISIL militants seized control of Mosul, a city of 2 million population.

They have been committing heinous crimes in the areas they have taken, including the mass execution of civilians as well as Iraqi army troops and officers.

The ISIL terrorists have also threatened other communities, including Shiites, Sunnis, Kurds, and Christians, in Iraq.