Iraqi forces eye Shirqat, one of the last steps before Mosul
Thousands are fleeing a northern Iraqi town controlled by Islamic State before a planned government assault there that would be a major step towards retaking the militant stronghold of Mosul, 100 km (60 miles) further north. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has pledged to recapture Mosul, the ultra-hardline group's de facto Iraqi capital and the largest […]Fadhil Al-Samarraie reports for Reuters:
Thousands are fleeing a northern Iraqi town controlled by Islamic State before a planned government assault there that would be a major step towards retaking the militant stronghold of Mosul, 100 km (60 miles) further north.
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has pledged to recapture Mosul, the ultra-hardline group's de facto Iraqi capital and the largest city anywhere in its self-proclaimed caliphate, by the end of 2016, more than two years after it fell to the jihadists.
Recent gains against the militants have brought that target into focus , though critics still question whether the military is ready and what might happen to the city if Islamic State is ousted.
More than 33,000 people have fled south from Shirqat town over the past two months, according to the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR and local security officials.
Controlling Shirqat and the nearby town of Qayara is critical to protect the recently recaptured Qayara airbase from mortar and rocket attacks so that U.S.-backed Iraqi forces can use it as a logistics hub for the Mosul operation.
