Alwaght- Iraqi forces have launched a large-scale operation to liberate the strategic airport from terrorists in Mosul days after they began a new phase of the battle to drive ISIS terrorist group out of Arab country's second largest city.
Commander of Federal Police Forces Lieutenant General Raed Shaker Jawdat announced the news in a statement on Thursday, saying that members of the Iraqi federal police and rapid response forces are engaged in the multi-pronged offensive to liberate the airport, Arabic-language al-Sumaria television network reported.
He said government troops are receiving support from Iraqi helicopter gunships and artillery units, stressing that the bulk of ISIS fortifications has been destroyed so far.
Major General Najim al-Jabouri, the head of the Operations Command in Nineveh Province, of which Mosul is the capital, also pointed out that Iraqi forces are advancing to establish control over Ghazlani airbase.
The military site lies near Mosul and is located some 400 kilometers (248 miles) north of the capital, Baghdad.
“Our forces will prevail and liberate the Mosul airport as soon as possible,” Jabouri said. “Just like Qayyarah Airfield, we will take advantage of the Mosul airport to attack ISIS.”
Since earlier this week, Iraqi forces, backed by fighters from the Popular Mobilization Units, have been closing in on the ISIS-led western half of Mosul after dealing severe blows to the terror group on the eastern front.
