madaresharghi [1]
Iraqi forces on Monday launched an attack against Daesh-held areas southeast of the terror group’s bastion of Hawija, the operations commander said.
Government forces and the Hashd al-Shaabi, an alliance mostly of Shia forces, are fighting to retake the northern town of Hawija after expelling Daesh from large parts of the territory they seized in Iraq in 2014, Reuters wrote.
“The Counter Terrorism Service and Hashd al-Shaabi have started a broad operation to liberate Rashad and nearby villages as part of the second phase to liberate Hawija,” Lieutenant General Abdel Amir Yarallah said.
The Hashd al-Shaabi confirmed the offensive and said it had retaken five villages west of Rashad, which is 35 kilometers (20 miles) southeast of Hawija.
On September 21, Iraqi forces backed by a US-led coalition launched an offensive to retake a Daesh enclave around Hawija, swiftly taking the town of Shirqat on its second day before pushing on towards Hawija itself.
On Friday, they started the battle to retake the town itself, one of the last Daesh bastions in the country along with a stretch of the Euphrates Valley near the border with Syria.
Oil wells on fire
Daesh set fire to three oil wells near Hawija, military and oil officials said on Monday.
Iraqi security forces were using bulldozers to control the fires started by the terrorists in the early hours of Saturday to slow the advance of anti-Daesh troops toward Hawija town, military officials said.
The Allas oilfield, 35 km (20 miles) south of Hawija, was one of the main sources of revenue for Daesh.
“Terrorists are trying to use the rising smoke to avert airstrikes while retreating from the area toward Hawija,” said Iraqi Army Colonel Mohammed al-Jabouri.
Military officials said the fire had been brought under control at one of the wells, while the other two were still burning. They said it would take about three days to put out the fires.
Oil officials from the state-run North Oil Company said it was still too risky to send its crews in to assess damage at the wells as terrorists may have left bombs and landmines.