ISIS presence in Mosul quite high: Kurdish Peshmerga
Islamic State’s fighters in Mosul. File Photo.
(IraqiNews.com) NINEVEH – Despite losing a significant numbers of members and territories under its control in Iraq, the presence of ISIS members in Mosul however is quite high. This information was shared by a source in the Kurdish Peshmerga.
Adding details the source said, “The recapturing of Fallujah to west of Baghdad and the liberation of Qayarah airbase in southern Mosul is of strategic importance for the Iraqi forces: mostly because Qayarah is quite close to Mosul.”
“But the area from here to Mosul, which is around 60 kilometres, is covered with IEDs and this could slow down the approach to Mosul. Moreover, in Mosul there are a significant number of ISIS members and they are equipped with heavy artillery and this could further slow down the process of territory recapturing. But the process can continue with the cooperation of Peshmerga force, Iraqi army and US-led coalition,” the source added.
It is worthy to be mentioned here that after recapturing Fallujah and liberating Qayarah airbase, the Iraqi army promised to retake Mosul and defeat ISIS at its last bastion as well. The Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi had even promised to retake Mosul by the end of this year.