Hadi Al-Ameri: ISIL Not Able to Flee to Syria

Al-Ameri told al-Mayadeen news channel that his forces have managed to create different fronts in Mosul, Tal Afar and Mosul general region to drive a wedge between the ISIL terrorists in the region.

“We preferred to start the operations from the Western side of Mosul and then enter the Tal Afar battleground so that the ISIL’s supply routes will be blocked,” he said.

Al-Ameri added that the Mosul operation is a national operation and no foreign force is allowed to interfere in it.

The latest reports from Mosul said that the Iraqi forces are “very close” to a strategic mosque in Western Mosul, proceeding with operations to clear the area from ISIL militants.

Iraq’s Federal Police chief, Lt. Gen. Shaker Jawdat, said in a statement on Sunday that his forces were very close to the Grand Nuri Mosque in Old Mosul, another primary target for Iraqi security forces seeking to eradicate ISIL from Western Mosul since February.

“Federal Police troops have got very close to liberating al-Hadbaa Minaret, the second most important strategic target in Western Mosul after the liberated government buildings,” Jawdat said, using the Arabic common reference to the mosque’s “leaning” minaret.

The Nuri Mosque was the location where ISIL ringleader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi delivered his famous sermon in 2014.

Jawdat added that his forces, advancing towards the mosque, killed tens of militants and destroyed 23 booby-trapped vehicles.