Obama, Iraqi leader to strategize on fight to reclaim Mosul

“Turkey has to know that Iraq, as a neighboring country, wants to hold ties built on common interests, but sending those troops (in northern Iraq) is poisoning the relations between the two countries”.

“Iraqi forces have liberated the villages of Khalidya and Al-Amirya, located on the banks of the Tigris River”, Army Commander Qassim al-Mohamadi told Anadolu Agency.

Dunford’s statement is the clearest sign from a senior U.S. military official that the military battle for Mosul could soon begin once the Iraqis make the political decision to proceed.

Iraqi and United States officials are also concerned there has not been enough planning for how to manage Mosul, a mosaic of ethnic and sectarian groups, if and when ISIL is removed.

With air support from a US -led coalition, the troops are now less than 3 km from the town center, according to Dawdah, who said he expected the campaign to be concluded within 48 hours.

Power said the summit wouldn’t be a “panacea” for the crisis, but would show what the USA can achieve when it leads on an issue of global concern. Rasool highlighted that the Iraqi Armed Forces can not move forward into Mosul while as along as terrorists keep control of Shergat, and recalled that they had already regained control of other towns in the north of that locality.

“Clearing that area makes sure that their supply lines are protected”, he said.

Colonel Muhammad al-Assadi, an Iraqi security spokesman, said Iraqi troops have retaken villages around Shirqat and are about five kilometers from the town.

The push to take Shirqat is backed by paramilitary troops, mostly Shiite militiamen. The only militias involved were Sunni tribal fighters from the area, he said.

U.S. President Barack Obama said on Monday that the battle against the Islamic State militant group in Mosul would be challenging but he was confident it would move forward rapidly.

“We assess today that the Iraqis will have in early October all the forces marshaled, trained, fielded, equipped that are necessary for operations in Mosul”, Joint Chiefs Chairman General Joe Dunford said at a military event in Washington.

Iraqi forces have been moving northwards from Baghdad for nearly two years, gradually retaking areas over which IS declared its “caliphate” in June 2014.

The jihadists have also lost ground in Syria and Libya. An intensely hard urban fight to oust IS from Mosul is expected to ramp up in the next two to three months, following recent victories in reclaiming other Iraqi cities including Fallujah and Ramadi.

“These operations pave the way for cleansing every inch of Iraqi land and God willing its end will be the liberation of the city of Mosul. the liberation of all Iraqi lands and the end of Daesh”, the Iraqi prime minister said.