01:12Iraq: Iraqi forces battle IS near Al-Abbasi as offensive enters second day
Iraqi troops continued their efforts to re-capture the village of Al-Abbasi on the second day of operations to retake the city of Mosul, Tuesday. Forces of the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS; ISIS/ISIL) continue to occupy individual buildings, while improvised explosive devices are also hampering the troops' progress, according to local media reports.
Further along the front, Iraqi forces are moving from Qayyarah to the southeast of Mosul, targeting Hamam Ali, and still have 40 km (24.80 miles) to go until they reach the southern edge of the city.
On the first day of the offensive, Kurdish Peshmerga forces battled near Khazir, to the east of Mosul, and liberated several villages in the countryside around Mosul, according to a number of media reports. Iraqi forces meanwhile launched an offensive from the south of Mosul. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi officially announced the start of the assault during an address in Baghdad on Monday. Warplanes of the US-led coalition are providing air cover.
Mosul is the last major city in Iraq under the control of IS, and the army has recently been working towards its recapture by liberating nearby towns and cutting off supply routes to the militants who remain in the city. Mosul has been under the control of IS since June 2014.
01:12Iraqi troops continued their efforts to re-capture the village of Al-Abbasi on the second day of operations to retake the city of Mosul, Tuesday. Forces of the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS; ISIS/ISIL) continue to occupy individual buildings, while improvised explosive devices are also hampering the troops' progress, according to local media reports.
Further along the front, Iraqi forces are moving from Qayyarah to the southeast of Mosul, targeting Hamam Ali, and still have 40 km (24.80 miles) to go until they reach the southern edge of the city.
On the first day of the offensive, Kurdish Peshmerga forces battled near Khazir, to the east of Mosul, and liberated several villages in the countryside around Mosul, according to a number of media reports. Iraqi forces meanwhile launched an offensive from the south of Mosul. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi officially announced the start of the assault during an address in Baghdad on Monday. Warplanes of the US-led coalition are providing air cover.
Mosul is the last major city in Iraq under the control of IS, and the army has recently been working towards its recapture by liberating nearby towns and cutting off supply routes to the militants who remain in the city. Mosul has been under the control of IS since June 2014.