Iraqi troops halt operations, regroup south of Mosul

Record ID: 76903

  • Title: Iraqi troops halt operations, regroup south of Mosul
  • Date: 12th December 2016
  • Summary: GANOUS, SOUTH MOSUL, IRAQ (DECEMBER 12, 2016) (REUTERS) MILITARY VEHICLES DRIVING ALONG DESERT ROAD IRAQI FLAG (AUDIO OF EXPLOSION) MILITARY VEHICLE WITH FLYING IRAQI FLAG OUTSIDE BUILDING USED AS HEADQUARTERS OF FORCES IRAQI SOLDIER TAKING POSITION BEHIND BUILDING AND FIRING GUN ARMOURED VEHICLE WITH FLYING IRAQI FLAG STANDING NEAR BUILDING SNIPER FIRING THROUGH HOLE IN WALL (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) SERGEANT MUNTADHAR HASHIM, SAYING: "The operation came to a halt yesterday. We've ceased fighting for three days to regroup troops." CAMERAMAN ASKING: "What is the reason behind the halt of operations?" "To regroup troops and prepare plan. We are ready." CIVILIAN CAR DRIVING BEHIND BUILDING SOLDIERS HIDING BEHIND BUILDING, SOLDIERS FIRING GUN (AUDIO OF GUNFIRE) MORE OF GROUP OF IRAQI SOLDIERS HIDING BEHIND BUILDING AND GETTING READY TO EXCHANGE FIRE (AUDIO OF GUNFIRE) SOLDIERS BEHIND BUILDING
  • Embargoed: 27th December 2016 16:16
  • Keywords: Mosul offensive Iraq Sunni Ganous
  • Location: GANOUS, SOUTH MOSUL, IRAQ
  • City: GANOUS, SOUTH MOSUL, IRAQ
  • Country: Iraq
  • Reuters ID: LVA0015CKXZYF
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Forces of the Iraqi army and Sunni Arab tribesmen fighting for control of villages south of the Mosul said on Monday (December 12) they halted their advance to regroup.
    "The operation came to a halt yesterday. We've ceased fighting for three days to regroup troops," Sergeant Muntadhar Hashim said.
    Iraqi forces have been fighting for more than a week to retake Ganous village, about 90 km (60 miles) south of Mosul from Islamic State militants.
    The IS forces started counter attack last week after the elite Iraqi units pushed into the east Mosul district of Bareed. The militants hit back in Ganous with two suicide car bombs and rocket-propelled grenades destroying a Humvee and an armoured vehicle, army and police officers said.
    At least 10 soldiers and Sunni tribal fighters were killed, including two senior army officers, when Iraqi army tried to retake the village.
    In Shirqat, about 20 km (12 miles) from Ganous, an Iraqi military commander was wounded and one of his bodyguards killed when IS militants fired mortar shells at his convoy on Sunday (December 10).
    Lieutenant-General Jumaa Inad, head of operations in Salahuddin province, suffered wounds to his head and arm and was flown to a hospital in Erbil. Inad was visiting troops in the village of Ganous before the attack.
    The fighting around Shirqat and Ganous, in Salahuddin province, is part of a wider military campaign against Islamic State in the north of the country. U.S.-backed Iraqi force has been battling for eight weeks to crush the militants in Mosul, the largest city under Islamic State control in Iraq and Syria.
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