VIDEO: Iraqi forces retake Qayyarah Air Base, south Mosul
On Saturday, Iraqi security forces liberated Qayyarah Military Air Base located in southern Mosul, north of Iraq.
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – On Saturday, Iraqi security forces liberated Qayyarah Military Air Base located in southern Mosul, north of Iraq.
After a successful operation, Iraqi forces recaptured the military air base from the so-called Islamic State (IS).
An Iraqi military commander in Qayyarah, Hamad Dizayi, told Kurdistan24 that the security forces entered the military air base and are clearing the area from improvised explosive devices (IEDs) planted by the jihadists.
The video below shows the security forces convoy entering Qayyarah Air Base filmed from inside a helicopter.
IS was using Qayyarah as an IED factory where bombs were given to insurgents to wire different roads, houses, and locations against Iraqi security forces, according to Dizayi.
He also mentioned that the Iraqi army and international coalition warplanes participated in the military offensive against IS in Qayyarah Air Base.
[The location of Qayyarah Air Base in Iraq on the map, July 10, 2016. (Photo: National Geographic Map edited by Kurdistan24)]
Following the liberation of the air base, the Prime Minister of Iraq Haider al-Abadi congratulated the army and people of Iraq. He stated that jihadists retreated inside Mosul without combating the security forces.
Abadi noted that the capture of Qayyarah Air Base is an important step forward to free Mosul from IS.
The air base has significant strategic military importance. Security forces believe that the air base is likely to be used in the Mosul offensive to transfer military logistics from southern Iraq to the area.
Mosul is the second-largest city that has been under the control of jihadists since June 2014.
IS took control of the city and large swaths of territory stretching from Nineveh, Diyala, Salahaddin, and Anbar provinces.
Recently, the US Special Envoy Brett McGurk stated that since 2014 IS has lost 50 percent of territory in Iraq and 20 percent in Syria.
He also mentioned that the jihadists had lost the morale of fighting as the group continues to shrink in both countries.
Editing by Karzan Sulaivany