Iraqi Forces Retake Key Town amid Push to Liberate Mosul

A senior Iraqi military commander says the country’s special forces have managed to liberate a key town near Mosul as they press ahead with their offensive to liberate the northern ISIL-held city.

Lieutenant General Talib Shaghati said on Thursday that the liberation of the town of Bartella, located some 15 kilometers from the edge of Mosul, is “important” for the ongoing Mosul operation.

On Monday, the Iraqi army, volunteer Shia and Sunni fighters as well as Kurdish Peshmerga forces launched a long-awaited operation to wrest control of Mosul, the last stronghold of ISIL in the Arab country.

Many believe that the recapture of Mosul, the capital of Nineveh Province which fell to ISIL in 2014, would signal the terror outfit’s total defeat in Iraq.