Iraqi Kurds claim capture of town in advance on Mosul

Kurdish fighters claim to have taken the town of Bashiqa near Mosul from Daesh

24 October 2016, 8:07am

1 min read

An Iraqi army soldier stands atop of an armoured vehicle as a smoke from a nearby sulfur plant set alight by Daesh militants rises behind, on the outskirts of Qayyara PHOTO: Reuters

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Kurdish fighters said they had taken the town of Bashiqa near Mosul from Daesh on Sunday as coalition forces pressed their offensive against the terrorists’ last stronghold in Iraq, Reuters news agency reported.

Masoud Barzani, President of the Iraqi Kurdish region, told US Defense Secretary Ash Carter that the Kurds had succeeded in liberating Bashiqa from Daesh.

According to Reuters, Kurdish Peshmerga fighters told reporters at the scene that they had entered Bashiqa

The offensive to take Mosul, by Iraqi and Kurdish forces backed by a US-led coalition, is expected to become the biggest battle in the country since the US-led invasion in 2003.

The top US commander in Iraq, Army Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend, said his own information - while limited - "suggests that President Barzani is right, that there has been a considerable success at Bashiqa", adding that "I have not received a report that says every house has been cleared, every Daesh figher has been killed and every IED (roadside bomb) has been removed."