Battle for Mosul: Govt forces capture 20 villages

Armed forces closing in on Mosul say they have secured about 20 villages on the outskirts of the city in the first 24 hours of an operation to retake the last major stronghold in Iraq of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group. With air support from the US-led coalition, government and […]

Armed forces closing in on Mosul say they have secured about 20 villages on the outskirts of the city in the first 24 hours of an operation to retake the last major stronghold in Iraq of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group.
With air support from the US-led coalition, government and Kurdish forces edged closer to the city on Monday as smoke darkened the blue sky above one ISIL position, apparently from oil fires ignited to hamper the incursion and make it harder to land air strikes.
Kurdish forces announced on Tuesday that they were pausing their advance 30km east of Mosul as the Iraqi army presses ahead with the next stage of the operation. Colonel Khather Sheikhan of the Kurdish Peshmerga said his troops had achieved their objectives and “are just holding our positions” in the Khazir area.
The pause comes after a day of intense fighting involving air strikes, heavy artillery and ISIL car bombs.