Military operation to retake Mosul has begun: Iraq PM

17 October 2016 • International, News • No Comments

Operations to retake the Iraqi city of Mosul from the Islamic State (IS) group have begun, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced early on Monday over state television. “The time of victory has come and operations to liberate Mosul have started,” he said in an address broadcast by the Iraqiya channel.[…]

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Turkey’s Erdogan says Iraq cannot handle Mosul assault alone

16 October 2016 • International, News • No Comments

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday that Iraq could not deal alone with driving Islamic State from the city of Mosul and that the presence of Turkish forces in a nearby military camp was an insurance against attacks on Turkey. Turkey has been locked in a row with Iraq’s[…]

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Turkey says its troops to stay in Iraq until IS cleared from Mosul

13 October 2016 • International, News • No Comments

A planned U.S.-backed operation to drive Islamic State from the Iraqi city of Mosul could cause “blood and fire” in the region if not carefully handled, Turkey warned on Wednesday, saying it would keep troops nearby despite Baghdad’s opposition. President Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey, locked in an escalating row with[…]

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100 Turkish troops land near Mosul to train local anti-IS forces

5 December 2015 • International, News • No Comments

More than 100 Turkish soldiers have been deployed to an area near the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, currently under control of the Islamic State (IS) group, to replace a unit providing training to Iraqi troops, Turkish media reported on Friday. Around 150 soldiers, backed by 20 to 25 tanks,[…]

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Battle for Mosul: Cards stacked against ISIL

10 June 2015 • International, News • No Comments

On one side of a small mountain bordering Dohuk and Nineveh provinces in northern Iraq, rows of soldiers march in green fatigues and red berets, rifles slung across their shoulders. On the other side is Mosul, the de facto Iraqi capital for fighters with the Islamic State of Iraq and[…]

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ISIL fighters destroy another world heritage Iraqi site

7 March 2015 • International, News • No Comments

Fighters of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) have bulldozed the ancient city of Hatra, Iraqi officials say. In a statement posted on its website on Saturday, the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities quoted media outlets about the “looting and destruction of the ruins of the anciety[…]

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IS video shows destruction of Mosul artefacts

27 February 2015 • International, News • No Comments

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group has released a video showing its fighters using sledgehammers to smash ancient artefacts in Iraq’s northern city of Mosul. The five-minute video shows a group of bearded men in a museum using hammers and drills to destroy several large statues,[…]

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Iraqi army prepares for ‘liberation of Mosul’

12 December 2014 • International, News • No Comments

Iraqi forces are making plans for a push into Mosul, Iraq’s second city that was captured by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant fighters six month ago, Iraq’s Finance Minister Hoshyar Zebari told Al Jazeera. The Iraqi government has set up an operations room for the liberation of[…]

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