Iraqi forces advance in center of Qayyarah, south Mosul

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – Iraqi security forces advanced to the center of Qayyarah town, southern Mosul, where half of the area remains in the hands of the Islamic State (IS), said a military source on Wednesday.

The Iraqi forces launched a military operation on Tuesday to liberate the center of Qayyarah, one of the key towns that remain under the control of IS.

Amin Shekhani, the spokesperson for one of the Iraqi army brigades, spoke to a local Kurdish news outlet about the developments in the town.

“Today is the second day of the operation and clashes continue in the town,” he said.

“The Iraqi army has liberated half of Qayyarah center, and the other half remains in the hands of Da’esh,” Shekhani added, using the Arabic pejorative for IS.

According to the spokesperson, heavy clashes are ongoing inside the town.

Additionally, Shekhani revealed that IS defends their areas by sending vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices (VBIEDs) and targeting Iraqi soldiers via snipers.

In June 2014, IS emerged in the north of Iraq and occupied Qayyarah without any clashes as the Iraqi army collapsed and failed to protect the territories.

In an offensive conducted in July 2016, the Iraqi army freed Qayyarah Air Base located in the west of the town.

Hamid Dizayee, an Iraqi soldier in Qayyarah, stated that since Tuesday the army had surrounded IS inside the town from the south and west, entering several neighborhoods in some areas.

The operation is part of the larger military offensive to liberate Mosul, the second-largest city in Iraq.

Mosul is currently the capital of the so-called IS Caliphate and has been occupied since June 2014.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany