WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Fighters of the Islamic State [Daesh] terror group (outlawed in Russia) are now trapped in Mosul after Iraqi forces recaptured the city’s airport, US Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter the Islamic State Brett McGurk said on Thursday.
"Congratulations to Iraqi forces for completing complex maneuver ops to secure Mosul airport from ISIS [Islamic State] terrorists. ISIS is now trapped," McGurk said in a Twitter post.
Congratulations to Iraqi forces for completing complex maneuver ops to secure #Mosul airport from #ISIS terrorists. #ISIS is now trapped.
— Brett McGurk (@brett_mcgurk) February 23, 2017
Earlier on Thursday, Iraqi troops and federal police, backed by the US-led coalition against the Islamic State, entered the Mosul airport. The airport had been occupied by Daesh fighters.
23 February 2017, 07:41 GMT
Iraq’s state media later reported that the country’s special forces were fully in control of the airport.
The advance was part of the operation to retake western Mosul from the Daesh. Iraqi and US-led coalition forces liberated the eastern part of the city in January.
