Iraq launches campaign to expel IS from its last stronghold

Iraq's prime minister announced today that the campaign to liberate the country's second largest city from IS has begun.

Iraqi forces at the Qayyarah military base, more than 50 km south of Mosul. Photo: AFP.

"Dear people of Nineveh province, the victory bell has rung and the operation to liberate Mosul has begun," Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said in a televised speech. "Today I announce the start of the operation to free you from the violence and terrorism of Daesh."

The war was expected to last several weeks or months. The liberation side had30,000 people, of which the Iraqi army and Kurdish Peshmerga forces account for the majority, according to CNN.

Iraqi security forces are expected to lead the ground campaign with support from airstrikes and advisers from the US-led coalition, US officials said.

US military officials estimate there are 3,500 to 5,000 IS fighters in Mosul, while supporters say the number is 7,000.

Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city, is considered the last IS stronghold in the country. IS has lost significant territory in the past two years, being driven out of Tikrit, Ramadi and Fallujah.

Major cities liberated from Iraqi hands. Graphics: CNN.

According to VNE