US-Led Coalition Praises Hashed Al-Shaabi Forces Fighting against Daesh

The commander of the coalition battling Daesh in Iraq and Syria, Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend, had rare words of praise for Hashed al-Shaabi  in a statement coinciding with the launch on Sunday of an offensive on the west bank of Mosul.

"The entire Coalition salutes and wishes God's blessings on the brave Iraqi soldiers, police and militias who today are fighting to liberate their country and make the region and the world a safer place," Townsend said in a coalition statement, AFP reported.

The Hashed al-Shaabi forces have played a key role in the fight against Daesh since the terrorists seized around a third of Iraq in 2014.

In the four-month-old operation to retake Mosul, Daesh's last major bastion in the country, Hashed forces have operated mostly on a remote desert front southwest of the city.

Their forces have retaken swathes of land and dozens of villages in an effort aimed at surrounding extremists holed up in the town of Tal Afar and cutting off supply lines between Mosul and the Syrian border.

"Mosul would be a tough fight for any army in the world, and the Iraqi forces have risen to the challenge," Townsend said in the statement. 

"They have taken the fight to the enemy and sacrificed their blood for the people of Iraq and the rest of the world," he said.