Erdogan: Iraq can not handle Mosul assault alone

Chief among those battles will be a fight for control of Hawija, located about 100 miles south of Mosul and the last major ISIS stronghold in the oil-rich Kirkuk province. “Time to celebrate a clean Iraq without “Daesh” or any dark belief”.

Al-Nujaifi went on to note that the central government in Baghdad had earlier promised not to include either the PKK or the Hashd al-Shaabi in the campaign to free Mosul.

Iraq’s announcement of the start of the offensive to retake Mosul from ISIS is a pivotal moment in defeating ISIS, which has made the city its de facto capital in Iraq since seizing it in mid-2014.

Reflecting the authorities’ concerns over a mass exodus that would complicate the offensive, the leaflets told residents “to stay at home and not to believe rumors spread by Daesh” to cause panic, referring to ISIS by its Arabic acronym. Iraqi forces retook the city of Ramadi in late 2015, followed by a number of towns and villages along the Euphrates River valley and then Fallujah in June.

Further claiming credit for the upcoming Mosul operation, the report cited authorities as noting that USA advisers will also accompany Iraq’s “elite Counterterrorism Service, who as in previous battles, are expected to spearhead the assault into the city”.

The Iraqi military has since recovered and is riding a wave of momentum in which they have evicted Islamic State from major cities including Sinjar, Beiji, Ramadi and Fallujah since the end of previous year. However, American special operations forces might come close to combat situations as they assist Iraqi special operations forces engaged in the fight.

ISIS also released some low-level prisoners, including those jailed for their beards, cigarettes or clothing, the source added.

For more than two years, the Iraqi military offensive on Mosul has been expected to be the most important battle against ISIS.

Among the groups joining to fight ISIS in Mosul are the Shia-led Hashd Al-Shaabi, or Popular Mobilization Unit.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has said Turkey risks triggering a regional war.

The majority of the PMU groups are mobilizing in coordination with Iraq’s Internal Security Forces and the joint command for the looming battle, Assadi said.

“Erdogan is trying to make sure that he has a say in the future of the affairs in Mosul as well as Iraq”, said Erdemir.

Iraqi forces have been gathering near the city for days now, and defense officials told NPR’s Tom Bowman that they “will outnumber the ISIS defenders by more than 20-to-1”.

Kurdish Peshmerga forces are getting ready for the battle as well.

On the military level among these parties, the USA has more than 5,000 consultants spread over several bases on the Iraqi territories, in addition to the air-force leading the global coalition.

Turkey will not leave the people of Iraq’s Mosul city to their fates, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday. “Women should not scream or shout, to preserve the children’s spirit”.

“If you were to see a forced population movement of more than 150,000 people, at that stage there isn’t an institution in the world that could cope with that scale of movement”, said Grande. Black smoke has intensified Saturday.

The UN refugee agency says most of the remaining residents could flee once the fighting is underway, creating what a UN representative says could be “one of the largest man-made displacement crises of recent times”.

“At the end of the day the Iraqi forces, with our assistance, are going to prevail”, he said.