Battle for Mosul: Operation to retake Iraqi city from IS begins

Battle for Mosul: Operation to retake Iraqi city from IS begins Artillery began firing on the city early on Monday, in a long-awaited a...

Battle for Mosul: Operation to retake Iraqi city from IS begins

Artillery began firing on the city early on Monday, in a long-awaited assault from Kurdish Peshmerga, Iraqi government and allied forces.

Tanks are now moving towards the city, which has been held by IS since 2014.

The UN has expressed "extreme concern" for the safety of up to 1.5 million people in the area.

The recapture of the city, officials say, would mark the effective defeat of IS in Iraq.

An Iraqi policeman inspects his weapon at the Qayyarah military base near Mosul — Image captionIraqi forces have been preparing for the offensive at a base near Mosul

An Iraqi operation to recapture the city of Mosul, the last stronghold of the so-called Islamic State (IS) in the country, has started.

The start of the operation was announced by Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi in an televised address in the early hours of Monday (local time), "The hour of victory has come," he said.

"Today I declare the start of the heroic operations to liberate you from Daesh," he said, using another name for IS.

"God willing we will meet in Mosul to celebrate the liberation and your salvation from Isis (IS) so we can live together once again, all religions united and together we shall defeat Daesh to rebuild this dear city of Mosul."

Media captionMosul diary: 'I feel like I'm living in a prison'

Surrounded by senior Iraqi officers, he vowed that only government forces would enter Mosul, a Sunni-majority city.

This, analysts said, was an attempt to counter fears that the operation could turn into a sectarian conflict.

US Secretary of Defence Ash Carter described it as "a decisive moment" in the campaign to deliver IS "a lasting defeat". But he added that it would be a "difficult fight".

Battle for Mosul

In numbers

700,000

estimated population left

4,000 to 8,000estimated number of IS fighters
25,000 troops expected to take part

AFP, AP, Reuters

AFP

It was from Mosul that IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared a caliphate - a state governed in accordance with Islamic law - in territory controlled by the group in Iraq and Syria.

The operation to retake the city, capital of the northern Nineveh governorate, has been planned for months, and analysts say it could last for weeks, if not months.

More:

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-37674693