Iraqi PM Rejects US Claim; No Pause in Mosul Operation


Iraqi PM Rejects US Claim; No Pause in Mosul Operation

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi stressed that Mosul operation would last until the liberation of the province in its entirety, denying a recent claim made by the US-led coalition that there was going to be a pause in the Arab country’s military offensive against Daesh.

“Since the beginning of the operation to date, Iraqi forces have liberated a large number of districts, villages, and towns (in Nineveh Province, of which Mosul is the capital), and this trend is to continue as scheduled,” al-Abadi said Saturday via the country’s al-Iraqiya television network. 

The Iraqi top official said obstructive efforts by ill-wishers would not hamper the major offensive, noting that the operation would continue until the full liberation of the city from the ISIL terrorist group.

The remarks came after the coalition, which is supposedly fighting Daesh, said the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) had temporarily halted their advance on Mosul.

The coalition spokesman Colonel John Dorian said on Saturday, “We believe that (regrouping) will take two days before continuing the advance towards Mosul," accordign to Al Jazeera. 

There are reports that about 50,000 Iraqi ground troops are involved in the Mosul offensive, including 30,000 army troops, 10,000 Kurdish Peshmerga fighters and the remaining 10,000 from police and Popular Mobilization Units.

Iraqi forces have so far liberated nearly 80 towns and villages ever since they began the decisive battle on October 17.

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