Hashd Al-Shaabi Repels ISIL’s Attack on Salahuddin Province

The ISIL launched an attack in al-Harariyat region in Makhoul mountains in Salahuddin province, but they were pushed back.

The Iraqi volunteer forces killed at least 20 ISIL terrorists in in the clashes.

On Sunday, the Iraqi volunteer forces laid siege on the ISIL terrorists in a strategic region near the city of Mosul.

“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,” Hashd al-Shaabi Commander Mohammad 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.

Earlier on Sunday, the Iraqi Defense Ministry in a statement disclosed that the country’s joint military forces have deployed new military tactics to surprise the ISIL terrorists and prevent them from disguise, and said the Baghdad government troops have recaptured several areas by applying the same tactics.

The defense ministry said that the Iraqi forces managed to take full control of al-Entesar, Jadideh al-Mofti, al-Salam, Younes al-Sabawi and Palestine districts by purging terrorists from a large number of residential complexes.

It noted that the Syrian army and their allies still continue their military advances in different districts across Mosul city.

On Saturday, a senior Iraqi commander announced that the country’s joint military forces have seized back over 360 villages and more than 5,600 square kilometers of lands in Nineveh province since the start of the Mosul liberation operation.

“Our forces have won back 369 villages and over 5,677 square kilometers of lands since the Mosul operation kicked off,” Commander of Iraq’s Joint Military Operations Lieutenant General Abdel Amir Rashid Yarallah said.

He noted that Iraq’s joint military forces have also destroyed 632 bomb-laden military vehicles of the terrorists during the Mosul operation.

On Thursday, Iraq’s elite Counter Terrorism Service (CTS) said they are progressing steadily in their operations to liberate the ISIL-held city of Mosul from its terrorist occupants.

CTS troops have entered the Northeastern neighborhood of Qahera, where they commenced operations to purge ISIL militants from it and surrounding districts.

Major General Abdul Ghani al-Asadi, a CTS commander, told reporters that after deployment the troops split up into two groups heading South and North.

“The troops made good progress in both directions according to plan. Troops heading South secured almost 70 percent of al-Ikha neighborhood, which is an important neighborhood,” he said.

He noted that the forces had now surrounded the al-Ilam, al-Tamim and al-Noor neighborhoods, and were preparing to cut off the supply routes to the al-Quds and al-Karama neighborhoods.