US-Led Coalition Attacks 17 Daesh Positions to Aid Peshmerga Offensive on Mosul

The US-led coalition against the Daesh attacked 17 positions to aid Kurdish Peshmerga forces advance east of the city of Mosul, the General Command of Peshmerga Forces of the Kurdistan Region said in a statement on Monday.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — "Global Coalition warplanes attacked 17 ISIL [Daesh] positions in support of Peshmerga forces," the statement said.

The strikes destroyed several car bombs while the counter-explosives teams continue to work on clearing the heavily-mined area, the General Command noted.

During the first day of the Mosul offensive, the Kurdish Peshmerga forces liberated nine villages in the vicinity of Mosul, including Baskhira, Tarjala and Shaquli, according to the statement.

In addition, the Peshmerga secured a significant stretch of the road connecting Mosul with Erbil.

The General Command pointed out that at least 60 local and international media outlets were embedded to cover the military operation.

Earlier on Monday, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi announced the start of the military operation to retake Mosul from the Daesh. Iraqi troops and their allies, including local Sunni militias as well as Kurdish forces, are involved in the offensive.

The US-led coalition is supporting the Iraqi Security Forces with air support, artillery, intelligence, advisors and forward air controllers, according to the US Central Command.

The Daesh jihadist group, outlawed in Russia, seized Mosul, Iraq’s second biggest city, in 2014 along with a number of other northern and western Iraqi cities and towns.