Iraqi Army marches to retake ISIS occupied Mosul

Iraqi security forces made new gains on the ground against the ISIL terrorist group as they are trying to recapture the country’s second-largest city of Mosul from the terrorists.

Elite counter-terrorism forces and Popular Mobilization fighters retook control over Telol al-Baj area, which lies on the highway linking the town of al-Shirqat, situated about 250 kilometers (155 miles) North of the capital, Baghdad, to the southern part of Mosul, Al Forat reported.

“Security personnel have liberated Telol al-Baj, and several units have been deployed four kilometers (2.4 miles) away from the area to prevent the infiltration of vehicles rigged with explosives into the region,” said Lieutenant General Abdul Ghani al-Assadi, the commander of Iraq’s counterterrorism forces.

He said the Iraqi forces had inflicted heavy losses on the ranks of ISIL terrorists in Telol al-Baj.

Iraqi pro-government forces also engaged ISIL extremists in other parts of the Northern Nineveh Province, killing scores of the terrorists.

Elsewhere, in the Western province of al-Anbar, Iraqi security forces retook Halabisa and Albu Alwan areas on the outskirts of Fallujah, located roughly 69 kilometers (43 miles) west of Baghdad, and raised the national Iraqi flag in both regions.

On June 18, Iraqi forces launched an offensive against ISIL terrorists to retake the southern part of Mosul and the town of Qayyarah, one day after they retook Fallujah. The forces aim to ultimately recapture the entire Mosul, which ISIL has proclaimed its headquarters in Iraq.