‘Mosul operation to start in few weeks’

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – The United States and UK military officials stated on Saturday that the Iraqi forces would be ready for the Mosul liberation operation in a few weeks.

UK Defense Minister Michael Fallon, on the anniversary of the UK voting for air strikes against the Islamic State (IS), said Iraqi forces are now preparing to encircle the IS-held city of Mosul.

“I expect the operation for the encirclement of Mosul to begin in the next few weeks,” Fallon said.

“[IS] is being defeated. It is being driven back. It now occupies less than 10 percent of Iraqi territory,” he added.

Fallon also reaffirmed the UK’s position on the war against IS, stating “Britain will not waver in our efforts to defeat the evil of our age.”

On Sep. 21, the UK Defense Minister and his accompanied delegate visited the Iraqi capital Baghdad and the Kurdistan Region capital Erbil.

The delegation separately discussed with the leaders of both governments the war against IS and the preparations for the Mosul operation.

On Friday, the commander of the US Central Command General Joseph Votel, the US Ambassador to Iraq, and the US Consul-General in Erbil visited the Kurdistan Region and discussed the Mosul operation with the Region’s officials.

The commander of the US Central Command also met with Iraqi military officials in Baghdad on Saturday.

Following the meeting with the Iraqis, Votel stated he was “confident” the Iraqi security forces were ready to launch the offensive.

“We are very confident in the preparations and planning in the readiness of the forces to undertake this very challenging [Mosul] operation,” he said.

“The role of the coalition forces is to support the Iraqi security forces,” Votel added.

On Sep. 19, a trilateral meeting was chaired by the Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani and attended by the Region, US, and Iraqi military personnel and diplomats.

In the meeting, the group discussed preparations for the Mosul liberation.

“Peshmerga and Iraqi forces with the assistance of the US-led coalition shall begin the process of ridding the city of Mosul of [IS] terrorists,” the Kurdistan Region Presidency statement said.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany