Forces push deeper into key IS-held northern town

Backed by paramilitary troops, mostly Shiite militiamen, and aerial support from the USA -led global coalition, government forces launched the Shirqat operation on Tuesday.

Iraqi forces backed by air strikes from the USA -led coalition gained complete control of the northern district of Shirqat on Thursday, bringing the military a step closer to a main push on Mosul later this year.

Iraqi forces “completely liberated the Sharqat district and raised the Iraqi flag over the government headquarters” in the town, the country’s Joint Operations Command said in a statement that hailed the speed of the operation.

An Iraqi army official told media that suicide attacks are also possible during the push into Mosul, adding that ISIS are prepared to fight to the last man in order to keep control over Mosul and that the preparations they are making will make the clash “challenging”.

A group of US forces inspected the fragments afterwards and took a small sample of a suspicious “tar-like, black, oily” substance, which initially tested positive for mustard agent but then tested negative in a subsequent examination, the official said. A second test was negative, and a third sample has been sent to a proper laboratory for definitive analysis. Pictures published by the Defense Ministry showed soldiers hoisting the Iraqi flag over buildings, the corpses of alleged militants and jubilant residents waving at Iraqi forces.

The spokesman for the USA -led coalition against IS, Col. John L. Dorrian, told The Associated Press that the coalition carried out “a very successful strike that eliminated a significant number of fighters who were trying to flee toward Hawija”, to the east of Shirqat, which is under IS control.

The head of the Salahuddin provincial council, Ahmed Al Karim, said that government forces control up to 80 per cent of the city, with the militants pushed to rural areas across the Tigris River.

Iraqi forces advanced swiftly through the area after Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced the operation on Tuesday morning.

The new deployment, if approved by the White House, would assist Iraqi and coalition forces in preparing for the battle to capture the northern city, the extremist group’s last major stronghold in Iraq.

Shirqat is important for Iraqi troops to secure the supply lines to forces stationed in nearby town of Qayara ahead of Mosul operation. It pledged to recapture the city this year.

The Mosul operation also poses major humanitarian challenges, with the United Nations saying that up to one million people may be displaced by the fighting.