“The battle to liberate western Mosul started today in the morning. All units of Al-Hashd Al-Sha'abi [the People's Mobilization Forces Shia militia] are taking part in the operation,” Jawad Talebawi, representative of one of the Shia units told Alsumaria TV-channel.
#Iraq forces approaching #Mosul from south as al-Hashd al-Shaabi militia joined offensive from west front https://t.co/UIWRVm0eB6
— Mustafa Kadhum (@mustafakadhum) 29 октября 2016 г.
On October 17, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi announced the start of a military operation to retake Mosul from Daesh, a terrorist group outlawed in Russia and a number of other states.
According to local media, about 30,000 Iraqi soldiers and 4,000 Kurdish Peshmerga fighters are taking part in the operation, backed by airstrikes carried out by the US-led international coalition.
