PTI
WASHINGTON, OCTOBER 18
As Iraqi forces move forward in their campaign to liberate Mosul city from the ISIS, the US has said dislodging the terror group from its self-declared capital would be a “significant strategic gain”.
“I think the President (Barack Obama) would be the first to acknowledge that this is a significant test, given the population size of Mosul, given the large geographic area that it encompasses,” White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters yesterday.
“The symbolic importance that the ISIL (ISIS) has invested in their control of Mosul, dislodging them from the city would be a significant strategic gain,” he said.
“That’s why the US and our Iraqi partners have been working so closely over the last several months to prepare for this operation,” Earnest said in response to a question.
Acknowledging that the battle for Mosul is the next test because progress has already been made on the ground in Iraq, and there have been cities like Ramadi and Tikrit that were retaken from ISIS, he said “these were significant cities, significant in their population size, that Iraqi security forces did succeed in dislodging ISIL from. They did that with the support of United States and our coalition partners”.
Responding to a question, the White House official said he is not aware that any sort of specific timeframe has been laid out for when the operation would be completed.
“Obviously, this represents the next important step in our campaign against ISIL in Iraq. The US has mobilised a 67-member coalition to support the Iraqi government and Iraqi security forces as they seek to rid ISIL from their country,” he added, using another acronym for the ISIS.
“Mosul is the second largest city in Iraq. It was the city where ISIL’s leader announced their unfulfilled intent to form a caliphate. It is now the last major centre of ISIL in Iraq,” Earnest said.
Asserting that the campaign has been months in the making and there have been a number of important steps taken by the Iraqi security forces with the strong support of the US and its allies, he said the assault is an important part of the broader effort to ultimately destroy ISIS.
“It’s an indication that the effort is moving forward but there’s still a lot of important work to be done before that goal will be realised, even inside of Iraq,” he added.
The White House’s reaction came after the Iraqi government announced that its security forces with the support of the counter-ISIS coalition began operations to liberate the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, the self-declared capital and the last major stronghold of the dreaded group. Terming the operation a “decisive moment” in the counter- ISIS campaign, Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook has said: “Mosul is also historically a diverse, multi-ethnic, multi- sectarian city, precisely the opposite of ISIL’s hate-filled ideology, so it carries a great deal of symbolic importance in this fight as well.”
Turkey joins offensive to retake Mosul from IS
Turkey joined airstrikes by the US-led coalition during the operation to retake Mosul from the Islamic State (IS) militant group, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Tuesday.
Speaking at the Justice and Development Party’s parliamentary group meeting here, Yildirim said: “Our air forces have also participated in airstrikes in Mosul.”
He stated that Turkey would do “everything necessary” against all kinds of threats and did not need permission from others, Xinhua news agency reported.
The Prime Minister also warned that Ankara would respond if developments in Mosul lead to negative consequences against Turkey.
Turkish Pesident Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at the International Law Congress on Monday that Ankara will take part in operations and it will be coming to the diplomatic table in the aftermath.
Erdogan stressed that Turkey has a 350-km border with Iraq, and therefore, the country cannot be expected to remain impartial to developments right across the border.
He also warned against the danger of sectarian clashes if Ankara’s concerns are not taken into consideration.
Ankara has been locked in a row with Baghdad about the presence of its troops at the Bashiqa camp in northern Iraq and over who should take part in the US-backed assault on Mosul.
