Iraq, Allies Tightening Noose on Daesh-Held Mosul: French Minister
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Tuesday that Iraqi forces supported by international strikes are working to encircle Daesh stronghold Mosul in preparation for the battle to retake it.
"We are in the process of surrounding Mosul to prepare for the battle, which will be tough," Le Drian told journalists in Irbil, the capital of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region.
Le Drian, on the second day of an unannounced trip to Iraq, said warplanes from a US-led coalition, including four from France, had recently struck Daesh (ISIL) command centers in Mosul, located in the country's north.
On Monday, Le Drian said that Mosul and Syria's Raqqa, another key Daesh-held city, "must fall" in 2016, according to AFP.
Le Drian's remarks were the most specific timetable for the cities' recapture given by a member of the US-led coalition against the extremists, which has been reluctant to comment on the expected pace of operations.
The coalition is carrying out strikes against Daesh and providing training and other assistance to forces fighting the extremists.
Raqqa was seized by Daesh in early 2014, and Mosul was overrun during an extremist offensive in June that year.
The fact that both cities still have large civilian populations will complicate efforts to retake them, and the extremists have had ample time to sow slews of bombs and set up other defenses.
Daesh claimed attacks in Paris that killed 130 people in November last year, and there is concern that the extremists will strike the country again.
Belgium's federal prosecutor has said an extremist cell that attacked Brussels airport and a metro station last month, killing 32 people, initially planned to target France.
