Iraq to Retake Mosul from ISIL after Ramadi Secured: PM
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Iraqi armed forces will move to retake the major northern city of Mosul from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) terrorist group once they capture the western city of Ramadi, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Friday.
Capturing Mosul would deprive the terrorist group of its biggest population center in both Iraq and Syria, effectively abolishing the state structure of ISIL in Iraq, depriving it of a major source of funding and dealing a blow to its influence.
The capture of Ramadi would give the army a major psychological boost in its move toward Mosul, according to Reuters.
Iraqi forces started an attack on Tuesday to dislodge ISIL (also known as ISIS or Daesh) terroirsts from the center of Ramadi, the last district under their control in the city they had captured in May.
The notorious group seized Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city, in 2014, in an offensive that forced government forces to abandon a third of Iraqi territory.
"The liberation of dear Mosul will be achieved with the cooperation and unity of all Iraqis after the victory in Ramadi," Abadi said in a statement on the state media website on Friday.
Army commanders said on Wednesday that the battle for Ramadi would take several days.
