Commander: Liberation of Tal Abta’s Suburbs Prelude to Seizing Back Areas Bordering Syria

“Recapturing Tal Abta will be followed by seizing back al-Ba’aj and al-Qirvan regions and later taking full control of the border areas in Iraq along the Syrian border,” Senior Hashd al-Shaabi Commander Mohammad Al-Basri said on Monday.

Al-Basri reiterated that the Iraqi volunteer forces are fully prepared to take control of the suburban areas of Tal Abta in the Western flank of the city of Mosul, and said, “The most important goal pursued through liberating the regions bordering Syria is to fully cut off the supply and rescue routes to the Southern and Western flanks of Mosul.”

The Hashd al-Shaabi commander, meantime, pointed to the military operations to recapture Tal Afar West of Mosul, and said, “The Iraqi volunteer forces have prepared themselves for carrying out these operations; we have thorough information about the moves made by the ISIL to prevent our forces from making advances towards the center of Tal Afar.”

On Sunday, the Iraqi army seized back another strategic district in the Eastern part of the city of Mosul.

The Iraqi army troops are now in full control of al-Nour district in Eastern Mosul city.

Scores of ISIL terrorists were killed and wounded in the Iraqi army’s offensive in al-Nour district.

The comprehensive military campaign to liberate the Northern Iraqi city of Mosul continued on Sunday with the Iraqi volunteer forces ending the fifth round of military operations in the Western flank of the city of Mosul, while other units of armed forces declared that they have set 31 districts free in the city.

Earlier on Sunday, the Iraqi volunteer forces continued their advances West of the city of Mosul and retook two strategic villages near the city of Tal Afar.

Hashd al-Shaabi seized back Tal Meidan Qoli and Tal Qazal villages Westward of Tal Afar city, the Arabic-language al-Forat news website reported.

The ISIL terrorists’ military hardware sustained heavy losses and several of them were killed in clashes with the Iraqi volunteer forces.

On November 25, the Iraqi volunteer forces started the Fifth round of their military operation to capture the remaining areas in the Western flank of Mosul.

Meantime, the Nineveh Liberation Operation Command Center announced that Iraq’s joint military forces have managed to win back 31 districts of Mosul and are purging the ISIL terrorists from the newly-liberated areas.

On Tuesday, the Iraqi volunteer forces captured the key region of Tal Abta near Mosul.

The Iraqi volunteer forces laid siege on the ISIL terrorists in Tal Abta last Sunday.

“Tal Abta region is now under Hashd al-Shaabi’s full siege from four different directions, while they also took back several more villages in the surrounding areas,” al-Basri said.

He reiterated that recapturing Tal Abta which is regarded as one of the most important command centers of the ISIL near the Western flank of Mosul will pave the way for the Iraqi forces’ further advances towards the centers of Tal Afar and Mosul cities.

The commander said that Tal Abta’s capture can greatly help maintain security of a network of routes and supply lines in Nineveh province because it is linked to Tal Afar in the North and Al-Ba’aj in the West while it is also situated near the strategic Nineveh road.