Kurdish Troops Mopping Up Iraq's Bashiqa Liberated From Daesh

Kurdish Peshmerga are mopping up the northern Iraqi town of Bashiqa that has recently been liberated from Daesh, a spokesman of the Peshmerga forces' command told Sputnik on Tuesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On Monday, Iraqi media reported that Peshmerga fighters had liberated Bashiqa.

"Since 5 p.m. [14:00 GMT] yesterday, the Peshmerga forces have established full control over the area of Bashiqa, but the area is big and there are many quarters, there are many villages around it… That's why, the Peshmerga troops are mopping up quarters, streets and government buildings and are defusing mines," Jabbar Yawar said.

The official added that Peshmerga fighters were looking for Daesh terrorists that could still hide in several buildings of the town.

On October 17, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi announced the start of the operation to retake Mosul, which has been occupied by Daesh militants since 2014. The offensive has already resulted in liberation of a number of cities previously controlled by the terrorist group, which is outlawed in many countries, including Russia.