Peshmerga control Bashiqa, northeastern Mosul

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – Peshmerga forces gained full control of the town of Bashiqa in northeastern Mosul from the Islamic State (IS), a Peshmerga Commander said on Monday.

The Kurdish Peshmerga forces launched the military operation to liberate Bashiqa, 12 kilometers in northeastern Mosul. The offensive began at 7:00 a.m. local time.

“Peshmerga forces killed over 20 insurgents in the town and detonated more than 10 IS suicide car bombs,” said Kurdistan24 correspondent Hunar Ahmed on the front line.

Additionally, Peshmerga Commanders told the Kurdistan24 correspondent the extremist group was mostly attacking with suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices (VBIEDs).

During the operation, the US-led coalition was providing aerial support to the Kurdish forces, shelling IS positions inside Bashiqa.

“Peshmerga forces are searching for the remaining IS members inside the town,” Ahmed revealed.

He also mentioned the engineering team was busy defusing the booby traps in Bashiqa planted by the insurgent group.

The name Bashiqa comes from the Assyrian Neo-Aramaic words “Bet” and “Ashiqa,” meaning “House of lovers.” The town had a population of 140,000 people before the emergence of IS.

The residents of Bashiqa are mostly Kurdish Yezidis (Ezidi) and a minority of Assyrians and Arab Muslims. Moreover, the town is known for its abundant agricultural land.

Bashiqa had been under the control of IS since 2014 after the emergence of the group in northern Iraq where they expanded to different provinces including Nineveh, Diyala, Anbar, and Salahaddin.

The Mosul military operation began on Oct. 17 by the Kurdish and Iraqi forces.

The units started the offensive from the east of the city. Now, Mosul is under attack from all sides by the local forces with the support of coalition warplanes.

Below are some videos filmed during the operation:

The beginning of the operation:

Inside Bashiqa:

 Editing by Karzan Sulaivany