Iraqi army retakes 4 villages south of Daesh-held Mosul

By Gamal al-Badrani

BAGHDAD (AA) - Iraqi security forces have captured four villages and a gas station south of Mosul in the run-up to an anticipated campaign to "liberate" the city from the Daesh terrorist group, a local official said Tuesday.

Army forces on the ground, backed by airpower provided by a U.S.-led coalition, seized control of four villages located to the south of the Qayyara district near Mosul, Qayyara Governor Saleh Hassan told Anadolu Agency.

"Iraqi forces destroyed three booby-trapped vehicles during their advance into the area," he said.

Qayyara is a strategically vital area for the Iraqi army, which plans to launch an imminent offensive to recapture Mosul -- Iraq’s second largest city -- from Daesh.

Iraqi police official Ahmed al-Jabouri told Anadolu Agency that U.S.-led coalition warplanes had recently stepped up airstrikes in and around Mosul in an effort to disrupt Daesh supply lines.

Iraq’s security situation has deteriorated rapidly since mid-2014, when Daesh captured Mosul and overran vast tracts of territory in the northern and western parts of the country.

In recent months, the Iraqi army, supported by U.S.-led coalition airstrikes, has managed to reclaim much of the territory lost earlier to Daesh.

Nevertheless, the extremist group remains in control of several parts of the country, including Mosul.