Iraqi Federal Police forces on Monday pushed into the southern outskirts of Mosul on the second day of a new push to drive Islamic State militants from the city’s western half as the U.S. defense secretary started a visit to Iraq to discuss the fight against IS.
(FOX)- Backed by aerial support from the U.S.-led international coalition, Iraqi police and regular army troops launched an offensive on Sunday to retake western Mosul from IS following a 100-day campaign that pushed the militants from the eastern half of the city.
Iraqi helicopters were seen firing rockets at the village of Abu Saif early Monday morning, mainly at a hill that overlooks the city’s airport and provides the militants with a natural defense line on the southern approaches to Mosul. By noon, the forces entered the village and gained control over much of the strategic hill as fighting was still raging, according to an Associated Press reporter embedded with the forces.
Separately, police forces in armored vehicles were moving toward the sprawling Ghazlani military base on the southwestern outskirts of the city.
Some U.S.-led coalition soldiers in their armored vehicles were also seen advancing toward Abu Saif village along with the police. On Sunday, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, said while in the United Arab Emirates’ capital, Abu Dhabi, that U.S. troops “are very close to it, if not already engaged in that fight.”