WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — US-backed Iraqi troops have captured villages moving up the Tigris River valley toward the nation’s second largest city of Mosul, and they are now positioned the furthest north since Daesh (IS) seized control of the city two years ago, US Major General Gary Volesky told reporters on Wednesday.
"When I say they’re [Iraqi military forces] the furthest north since Daesh [IS] came and occupied Mosul, that’s the furthest north they’ve had Iraqi security forces in a while," Volesky said.
Iraqi troops, Volesky noted, are positioned near the Tigris River roughly 20 to 25 miles from Mosul. He declined to predict when an Iraqi offensive to retake the city would begin.
Daesh seized control of Mosul in June 2014. It now operates the city as the Iraqi capital of its self-declared Islamic caliphate.
Capturing Mosul is considered a key objective for the US-led coalition and Iraqi forces.
