Iraqi Forces Liberate 1,400 Square km in Nineveh Province: Federal Police
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The Iraqi Federal Police said its forces have liberated about 1,400 square kilometers in Nineveh Province from the Daesh (ISIS or ISIS) terrorist group since the beginning of a massive offensive to retake Mosul, the last major stronghold of the Takfiri militants.
In a press statement on Sunday, Commander of the Iraqi Federal Police Lieutenant General Raed Shaker Jawdat said since the beginning of the Mosul operation, his forces have liberated 61 villages and 1,400 square kilometers of land in Nineveh Province from Daesh terrorists.
The commander added that the Federal Police forces also have managed to kill 747 Daesh militants and detain 88 others.
Jawdat went on to say that since the operation started, the Iraqi forces have destroyed 164 booby-trapped cars, 42 military vehicles, 61 explosive belts and 47 motorcycle bombs.
The Iraqi army backed by Federal Police and Hashd al-Shaabi, also known as Popular Mobilization Forces, launched the offensive on October 16 aimed at wresting Mosul from the hands of Daesh.
“The time has come for the greatest victory,” Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on the same day on state TV. “I announce the start of Liberating Mosul Operation, by the will of Iraqis, and after depending on Allah.”
Al-Abadi said that Daesh would be “punished” for its crimes and that the province's cities and villages will be rebuilt.
In recent years, Iraq has been facing the threat of terrorism, mainly posed by the Daesh terrorist group.
Daesh militants made swift advances in much of northern and western Iraq over the summer of 2014, after capturing large swaths of northern Syria.
However, a combination of concentrated attacks by the Iraqi military and the volunteer forces, who rushed to take arms after top Iraqi cleric Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani issued a fatwa calling for fight against the militants, blunted the edge of Daesh offensive.
