Fresh Iraqi regiments arrive near Daesh-held Mosul city

By Jamal al-Badrani and Ibrahim Saleh

BAGHDAD (AA) – Fresh regiments of Iraqi forces have been deployed southeast of Mosul in preparation of a joint operation against Daesh in the city, an Iraqi military official said Tuesday.

In a statement issued Tuesday, Col. Abdul Sahib al-Daraji said: "The first and second regiments within [Iraqi army’s] brigade 76 of division 16 arrived in Makhmur district, 25 kilometers [15.5 miles] from the center of Mosul city.

"The regiments will move tomorrow Wednesday towards the eastern axis of Mosul and will be positioned near the Mosul Dam, which is the mobilization point of division 16, charged with carrying out military operations against Daesh from the axis of al-Khazir," al-Daraji said.

“This force is at a high level of military readiness and is supposed to have a significant role in penetrating the first line of defense of Daesh from the eastern axis of the city of Mosul,” he added.

Iraqi armed forces along with the Peshmerga and other combat units were being mobilized on the outskirts of Mosul to regain the city after Daesh captured it in June 2014.

- Bomb attack

At least one person was killed and eight others were injured in a bomb attack near a market in Euphrates district, west of Baghdad, Daham al-Mahmoud, a captain in the Iraqi interior ministry, said.

Separately, Iraqi bomb-disposal units in Babil province defused an explosive device at the al-Risalah Park, in the center of Jableh district, some 55 kilometers (34.1 miles) northwest of Hillah, al-Mahmoud added.

Daesh stepped up its attacks in Iraqi government-held areas in recent months in conjunction with the decline of their influence on the ground in the north and west of the country.

Baghdad says it will defeat Daesh by the end of this year.