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7K refugees flood Kurdistan
[ARA News] Erbil – Iraqi Kurdistan’s Peshmerga forces have cleared out more than 500 square kilometers, including 28 villages, and received more than 7,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) after two weeks of anti-ISIS operations near Mosul, the Kurdish Peshmerga Command said on Sunday.“Since the start of the military operation on October 17, Peshmerga Forces have cleared more than 500 square kilometres from ISIS, including at least 28 villages in North and East of Mosul, as part of the ongoing campaign to clear ISIS terrorists from Nineveh province,” the Peshmerga General Command in the Kurdistan Region said in a statement obtained by ARA News. “As of 15:30hrs on October 30, Peshmerga Forces have cleared six villages in North and East of Mosul: Faziliya, Kevrok, Khrab Bet, Kani Shirin, Khadheir and Qebr Esaaq. They have also secured the Mar Oraha monastery, close to the town of Batnaya,” it said. The Kurdish Peshmerga forces also extended control over several ISIS lines of communication into Mosul. “This includes major roads from Bashiqa, Batnaya, Filfel and Nawaran in an effort to tighten the grip on ISIS’s last major stronghold and significantly limit their ability to reinforce their positions,” the General Command said. In almost two weeks, the Kurdish Peshmerga forces killed dozens of ISIS militants and destroyed over 50 VBIEDs. “To date, in support of liberating forces, Global Coalition warplanes have conducted approximately 550 airstrikes,” it added. Moreover, at least 800 ISIS IEDs have been dismantled across frontline positions and major roads. Counter-IED teams continue to clear the heavily-mined areas, the command said. In the efforts to demine the areas, two demining experts lost their lives. This included Rasol Mehamadzadeh, a bomb expert from the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDK-I), and Dr Sait Curukkaya, a Kurdish expert from southeast Turkey. Also, more than 7,000 internally displaced persons (IDP) have fled to the Kurdistan Region since the start of the offensive. Lieutenant General Jabbar Yawar, Secretary-General of the Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs, told ARA News that after liberating Bashiqa District from Islamic State (ISIS), Kurdish forces will not push on to Mosul city. “According to the agreement with Baghdad, the Peshmerga will create a [defensive] line, while the Iraqi Army will advance further. We will not go to the centre of Mosul,” Yawar said, in an exclusive interview with ARA News. “Only the Iraqi Army, federal police and local police will ever enter the city.” Posted by: badanov 2016-10-31 |
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