Iraqi army fully retakes Daesh-held Hawija
The Iraqi military say they have recaptured Hawija on Thursday October 5th, Daesh (ISIL/ISIS) terrorist group’s last stronghold in northern Iraq.
Joint Operations Command’s top general, Abdul-Amir Yarallah, said army, Federal Police, Rapid Response Forces and the Popular Mobilization forces have totally taken over Hawija, and continue advancing to clear the town from militants.
The recapture puts an end to Daesh presence in northern Iraq and leaves the extremist terror group in control of a stretch of land in the west near the Syrian border, including the town of al-Qaim.
On Wednesday the Iraqi army had said they killed 196 Daesh militants and recaptured 98 villages.
Shia Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) and Iraqi army members began moving on Hawija on Wednesday, two days after capturing the Rashad airbase, located 30km to the south and used by the armed group as a training camp and logistics site.
The United Nations has recently voiced fears for the fate of over 70.000 civilians trapped inside the enclave.
Hawija lies between the two major routes north from Baghdad – to the second city Mosul, and to Kirkuk City and the semi-autonomous Kurdish region.
Iraqi government, coalition and paramilitary forces recaptured Mosul, the group’s former capital, and the neighboring town of Tal Afar early July and late August.
