Updated October 29, 2016 20:25:27
State-sanctioned Shiite militias have launched an assault on the Islamic State group west of the Iraqi city of Mosul, but reiterated that they would not enter the Sunni majority city.
Key points:
- Shiite militias begin offensive against Islamic State in battle to regain control of Mosul
- State-sanctioned militias are being advised by Iranian forces
- There have been no major advances towards Mosul in the past two days
Jaafar al-Husseini, a spokesman for the Hezbollah Brigades, said they launched an offensive along with other large militias toward the town of Tel Afar, which had a Shiite majority before it fell to Islamic State in 2014.
Iranian forces are advising the fighters and Iraqi aircraft are providing airstrikes, he said.
Iraqi army Major General Najim al-Jabouri said after the shelling "I don't think we will face much resistance".
"This is easy, because there are no civilians left," he added.
"The big challenge for us is always the civilians."
Lieutenant colonel Hussein Nazim of the militarised federal police, which is leading the advance from the south, said some civilians, mainly the elderly and infirm, might still be in the city but that the use of heavy artillery and airstrikes was a standard tactic.
"We must strike like this before we move in or else we will be easy prey for Daesh," he said, using an Arabic acronym for Islamic State.
In Baghdad, meanwhile, a suicide bomber targeting an aid station for Shiite pilgrims killed at least seven people and wounded more than 20, police and hospital officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to brief reporters.
No one immediately claimed the attack, but Islamic State often targets Iraq's Shiite majority, which the Sunni extremists view as apostates deserving of death.
Iraq launched a massive operation to retake militant-held Mosul, its second largest city, last week.
The Mosul offensive involves more than 25,000 soldiers, federal police, Kurdish fighters, Sunni tribesmen and the Shiite militias, which operate under an umbrella organisation known as the Popular Mobilisation Units.
Many of the militias were originally formed after the 2003 US-led invasion to battle American forces and Sunni insurgents.
They were mobilised again and endorsed by the state when IS, a Sunni extremist group, swept through northern and central Iraq in 2014, capturing Mosul and other towns and cities.
No significant advances
A US-led coalition has been providing airstrikes and ground support to Iraqi forces in the Mosul offensive, but al-Husseini said it had no involvement in the Iran-backed militias' advance on Tel Afar.
He said the militias would focus on Tel Afar and on securing the western border with Syria.
Islamic State still controls territory on both sides of the border, where it shuttles fighters, weapons and supplies between Mosul and the Syrian city of Raqqa, the de facto capital of its self-styled caliphate.
Iraqi forces advancing toward Mosul from several directions have made uneven progress since the offensive began.
Iraqi forces are a few kilometres from the edge of Mosul on the eastern front, where the elite special forces are leading the charge.
But progress has been slower in the south, with Iraqi forces still 35 kilometres from the city.
There have been no major advances over the past two days, as Iraqi forces have sought to consolidate their gains by clearing explosive booby-traps left by the extremists and uncovering tunnels they dug to elude airstrikes.
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Photo: Peshmerga military vehicles drive in Nawaran north of Mosul during an operation to attack Islamic State militants, Iraq October 26, 2016. (Reuters: Ari Jalal) -
Photo: Iraqi army soldiers are seen beside their armoured vehicles as a smoke from a nearby sulfur plant set alight by Islamic State militants rises behind, on the outskirts of Qayyara, south of Mosul, Iraq, October 23, 2016. (Reuters: Zohra Bensemra) -
Photo: Iraq's elite counterterrorism forces advance toward Islamic State positions as fighting to retake the extremist-held city of Mosul enters its second week, in the village of Tob Zawa, outside Mosul, Monday, October 24, 2016. (AP: Khalid Mohammed) -
Photo: A convoy of armoured vehicles belonging to international coalition troops drive during the operation against Islamic State militants outside the town of Naweran near Mosul, Iraq on October 23, 2016. (Reuters: Azad Lashkari) -
Photo: Smoke rises at Islamic State militants' positions in the town of Naweran, near Mosul, Iraq, October 23, 2016 (Reuters: Azed Lashkari) -
Photo: Peshmerga forces fire a mortar towards Islamic state militants' positions in the town of Naweran near Mosul, October 23, 2016. (Reuters: Azad Lashkari) -
Photo: An Iraqi special forces soldier stands in a Christian cemetery inside a church compound damaged by Islamic States fighters in Bartella, east of Mosul, Iraq. (Reuters: Goran Tomasevic) -
Photo: Iraqi army gather after the liberation of a village from Islamic State militants, south of Mosul, during an operation to attack Islamic State militants in Mosul, Iraq, October 21, 2016, as toxic smoke is seen over the area after Islamic State militants set fire to a sulphur factory. (Reuters: Thaier Al-Sudan ) -
Photo: Peshmerga forces stand behind rocks at a site of an attack by Islamic State militants in Kirkuk, Iraq, October 21, 2016. (Reuters: Ako Rasheed) -
Photo: Peshmerga forces prepare their anti-tank guided missiles in front of Islamic State militants' positions at the town of Naweran near Mosul, Iraq October 20, 2016. (Reuters: Zohra Bensemra) -
Photo: Smoke rises from clashes in the east of Mosul during clashes with Islamic State militants, Iraq, October 17, 2016. (Reuters: Azad Lashkari) -
Photo: Kurdish security forces take up a position as they fight overlooking the Islamic State-controlled in villages surrounding Mosul, in Khazer, about 30 kilometres east of Mosul, Iraq on October 17, 2016. (AP) -
Photo: Iraqi army soldiers raise their weapons in celebration on the outskirts of Mosul, Iraq, Thursday, Oct. 20, 2016. (AP) -
Photo: Displaced people who have fled ISIS territory gather in the village of Tinah, south west of Mosul. (Supplied: Thomas Robinson/Oxfam) -
Photo: Smoke rising over rows of tents at the Tinah camp, from oil fields burning in the distance. (Supplied: Thomas Robinson/Oxfam) -
Photo: Two young children living at Golat camp in Debaga north of Mosul pose for a photo, while men construct more tents in the background. (Supplied: Amy Christian/Oxfam) -
Photo: Mokhtar (village head) Nisr Amr, 35, sits with his son in the ruins of his father's house in the village of Imam Gharbi, some 70km south of Mosul. October 13, 2016. (Oxfam: Sam Tarling ) -
Photo: Omar stands inside by the ruins of his brother's house in the village of Imam Gharbi, some 70km south of Mosul, Iraq, on October 13, 2016.
The house was destroyed by Islamic State, when they took control of the village in 2014. (Oxfam: Sam Tarling ) -
Photo: Children run beside military vehicles passing by in the village of Imam Gharbi, some 70km south of Mosul, Iraq. October 13, 2016. (Oxfam: Sam Tarling ) -
Photo: Smoke from burning oil fields in Al Qarrayah fills the sky near the village of Imam Gharbi, some 70km south of Mosul, Iraq, on October 13, 2016. (Oxfam: Sam Tarling) -
Photo: Children watch military vehicles pass by in the village of Imam Gharbi, some 70km south of Mosul, Iraq, on October 13, 2016. (Oxfam: Sam Tarling )
AP
First posted October 29, 2016 18:49:02
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