18 October 2016, 14:05 GMT
DAVOS (Sputnik) — Liberation of eastern Mosul from terrorists proves effective cooperation between the Kurdish Peshmerga and Iraqi counter-terrorism forces, Head of Foreign Relations Department of Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government Falah Mustafa Bakir told Sputnik.
Earlier in the day, the Iraqi military announced that eastern Mosul has been freed from Daesh terrorists.
"Part of Mosul was liberated. It's a good cooperation between Peshmerga forces and Iraqi [forces] in Mosul," Bakir said.
The minister stressed the importance of taking the city back from the Islamic State, a terrorist group outlawed in Russia and many other countries.
"It is a tough fight, and will take some time. It's difficult to anticipate the end of the operation now," the minister added.
In October 2016, Iraqi forces, backed by the US-led international coalition, began an offensive to liberate Mosul, the second largest city in Iraq, from the Islamic State.
