Iraqi, coalition troops wrest key town from ISIS control

Shirqat seen as crucial supply stop for push to retake Mosul

BAGHDAD -- Backed by U.S.-led coalition airstrikes and paramilitary forces, Iraqi government troops on Thursday pushed Islamic State militants from a key town north of the Iraqi capital, days after starting an operation to retake it, a military spokesman said.

Recapturing the town of Shirqat posed another blow to Islamic State militants who since late last year have suffered major battlefield losses, shrinking the areas the extremists had controlled in western and northern Iraq since a mid-2014 blitz.

In a statement on state TV, the spokesman for the Joint Military Command, Brig. Gen. Yahya Rasool, declared the town "fully liberated" with its center under the control of Iraqi forces and the national flag hoisted over nearby government buildings, including the mayor's office and the main hospital.

State TV interrupted its normal programs with a series of news alerts announcing the operation and broadcasting patriotic songs. Pictures published by the Defense Ministry showed soldiers hoisting the Iraqi flag over buildings, the corpses of alleged militants and jubilant residents waving at Iraqi forces.

The spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State, Col. John Dorrian, said the coalition carried out "a very successful strike that eliminated a significant number of fighters who were trying to flee toward Hawija," to the east of Shirqat, which is under the control of the Islamic State, also known as ISIS. Dorrian couldn't give specific figures for the number of militants killed.

The head of the Salahuddin provincial council, Ahmed al-Karim, said government forces control up to 80 percent of the city, with the militants pushed to rural areas across the Tigris River. Al-Karim added that the operation did not displace people, as residents stayed in their homes.

Shirqat, about 155 miles northwest of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, was among the first areas to fall into Islamic State hands during the militants' summer 2014 offensive. The government forces opened the Shirqat operation Tuesday.

The town lies near the city of Mosul, which is the Islamic State's last major urban stronghold in Iraq.

Shirqat is important for Iraqi troops to secure the supply lines to forces stationed in the nearby town of Qayara ahead of the Mosul operation.

The city is home to the ancient city of Ashur. The UNESCO World Heritage site was the first capital for the Assyrian Empire between the 14th and ninth centuries B.C. The militants claimed that they had destroyed some of its ruins, but they didn't release a video as they did with other archaeological sites.

Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city, is about 225 miles northwest of Baghdad. While the Syrian city of Raqqa is the self-proclaimed caliphate's declared capital, Mosul is the largest city under its control. The Iraqi government is now gearing up for a major offensive to retake Mosul from the Islamic State. It pledged to recapture the city this year.

Late last month, Iraqi forces retook the town of Qayara, about 45 miles south of Mosul. Villages and towns south and southeast of Mosul also have been recaptured as part of an operation opened in March aimed at eventually pushing the Islamic State from the city.

A Section on 09/23/2016

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