Iraqi Army Starts Op to Squeeze Daesh From Areas Near Syrian Border

Iraq's Prime Minister Haider Abadi announced Tuesday the country's armed forces had launched an operation to drive the remains of Daesh forces away from the western parts of the country that border Syria.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – According to the prime minister of Iraq's press service, the Iraqi Army's operation aimed at clearing the "odious aggressors" of western Anbar province and Anah city. The operation began at dawn on Tuesday, the press service noted.

Operations to liberate western Anbar began near Anah at dawn today. We will retake every last bit of Iraqi territory from the enemy

— Haider Al-Abadi (@HaiderAlAbadi) 19 сентября 2017 г.

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The development comes as Iraqi government troops are conducting an operation in western Iraq to free area from terrorists. It was reported that the army supported by people's militia and border guards were carrying out a large-scale operation to liberate Akashat village.

Prior to that, the Iraqi government forces were said to have regained control over 90 percent of the Iraqi territory from Daesh. As a result of the army's actions, more than 2.2 million refugees managed to return to their homes, the Iraqi officials said.

Daesh seized large territories in northern and western parts of Iraq in 2014, provoking a wave of violence and instability in the country. Since then, Iraqi government troops have managed to recapture the major cities, such as Tal Afar and Mosul.