Iraqi forces recapture northwestern Mosul village, PMUs kill 15 militants

Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi government forces and allied militias recaptured on Monday a village in northwestern Mosul and killed 15 Islamic State militants as the security campaign grinds on to recapture the city.

The Joint Operations Command said in a statement the forces recaptured the village of Khubairat Atshana, close to a mountainous area recaptured a few days ago.

Al-Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Units), the paramilitary force fighting Islamic State with the Iraqi government, said through its media service it had killed 15 members of the group while advancing towards the nearby Darnaj village, close to the Atshana hills area which PMUs took over recently.

Iraqi forces recaptured eastern Mosul late January after three months of fighting, and are carrying on with U.S.-led coalition-backed operations to retake the west since last Sunday.Iraqi and coalition generals estimated the time needed to retake that area by six months.

Earlier on Monday, Iraqi troops recaptured the Josaq and Tayaran districts, and took over a bridge connecting western and eastern Mosul.

The United Nations fears fighting in western Mosul could displace at least 250.000 civilians.

Retaking Mosul could represent a fatal blow to Islamic State’s existence in Iraq. The group still maintains smaller pockets in Anbar, Kirkuk and Salahuddin.