‘We will retake what we abandoned before’

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (K24) – The second convoy of Iraqi troops deployed in Makhmour (a district southeast of Mosul and southwest of Erbil) brings the total number of soldiers in the area to 5,000, says a Kurdish official from the Ministry of Peshmerga on Wednesday.

As the military operation to liberate Mosul in northern Iraq approaches, more Iraqi soldiers have been deployed to Makhmour in recent days. On Feb. 12, some 750 soldiers from Iraq’s 15 Division were stationed in the area, and on Tuesday the second convoy equipped with heavy weapons arrived.

“The total number of Iraqi soldiers in Makhmour now is nearly 5,000,” Secretary-General of Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Peshmerga Ministry Jabar Yawar told K24.

On Tuesday, Marwan Sadiq, an Iraqi soldier in Makhmour, waved an Iraqi flag in a military vehicle and told K24 that the flag will be raised in the center of Mosul soon.

“It is true that we left Mosul...but we are here now to tell the Iraqi people that we will retake the city soon by ourselves,” Sadiq said.

Additionally, an Iraqi commander in Makhmour, Nasr Khizir stated, “Our military activities have already started in Makhmour against Da’esh [IS]. We aim to liberate Nineveh [Mosul] Province from Da’esh and help the Internally Displaced Persons [IDPs] return to their homes.”

Khizir also mentioned that the army is also cooperating with Peshmerga and coalition advisers in the area.

Reporting by Mewan Dolamari
Editing by Karzan Sulaivany and Benjamin Kweskin