Iraqi Hashd al-Sha’abi forces retake 9 villages west of Mosul from Daesh

Members of the Iraqi pro-government Popular Mobilization Units (Hashd al-Sha’abi) gather in a street in the modern town of Hatra, near the eponymous UNESCO-listed ancient city, southwest of the northern city of Mosul, on April 28, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

Iraqi fighters from the Popular Mobilization Units have managed to regain control over nine villages west of Mosul as they engage in joint military operations with army troops to purge Takfiri Daesh terrorists out of their last urban bastion in the Arab country.

 The media bureau of Iraq's Badr Organization announced in a statement that the pro-government forces, commonly known by the Arabic name Hashd al-Sha’abi, had establish full control over the villages of Be’r al-Osaibei, Aliyah and Sharji al-Rawi northwest of the mainly Shia-populated town of al-Ba'aj.

The statement added that Hashd al-Sha’abi fighters had also recaptured the villages of Hamd al-Madloul, Marzoukah, Touman, Raqbah al-Fores, Khirbet al-Arizah and Tale’ah al-Markab.

The Badr Organization further noted that the volunteer forces continue to make territorial advances towards al-Waleed border crossing, which is located in the Ar-Rutba district of the troubled western province of Anbar, killing more than 37 terrorists during military operations there.

Hashd al-Sha’abi forces also blew up eight vehicles which Daesh extremists had rigged with explosives to slow the progress of volunteer troops.

Meanwhile, Captain Abdul-Wadoud al-Anbari told Shafaaq news agency that members of the Interior Ministry's elite rapid response forces and Army’s 9th Division had killed 21 militants, including five snipers, during a counter-attack in Shifa neighborhood of western Mosul.

Iraqi army soldiers and volunteer fighters from the Popular Mobilization Units have made sweeping gains against the Takfiri elements since launching the Mosul operation on October 17, 2016.

The Iraqi forces took control of eastern Mosul in January after 100 days of fighting, and launched the battle in the west on February 19.

Jens Laerka, the spokesperson of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said on May 30 that nearly 600,000 civilians have been displaced amid the operation by Iraq's military and volunteer fighters to drive Daesh terrorists out of western Mosul.

He added that there are still major humanitarian concerns regarding the protection of 180,000 people, who are still besieged inside Mosul’s Old City and other districts north of the city.