Iraqi forces make rapid gains in IS-held Shirqat

Iraqi forces made rapid gains against the Islamic State group in Shirqat, south of Mosul on Wednesday, only a day after an offensive was launched to dislodge militants from the town.

An Iraqi army officer told The New Arab that government forces had made a quick advance into the town and liberated some 40 percent of Shirqat city.

"The battle hasn’t gone as expected, because Daesh has shown weak resistance," the military source said using an Arabic acronym for IS.

"Air support has played an important role in the battle, as it’s eroded Daesh’s ability to confront the Iraqi advance," he added.

The officer explained that many IS fighters have started retreating towards the town of al-Hadar on the outskirts of Mosul, predicting that Shirqat will be fully liberated within the next 48 hours.

Ali Dawdah, the mayor of Shirqat currently based in Erbil, told The New Arab that the high level of coordination between the army, local police and tribal fighters who are taking part in the offensive has allowed government forces to make rapid advances.

Iraqi forces had on Tuesday launched an operation to retake Shirqat in the latest move to prepare a broad offensive on the militants' bastion, Mosul.

Army and tribal forces pushed towards the town, around 80 kilometres [50 miles] south of Mosul.

Shirqat, about 155 miles [250km] northwest of Baghdad, was among the first areas to fall into IS hands in the militants' June 2014 blitz.

Earlier on Wednesday, the top general in the US military said Iraqi security forces will be ready by next month for an assault on the IS stronghold of Mosul.

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"We assess today that the Iraqis will have in early October all the forces marshaled, trained, fielded, equipped that are necessary for operations in Mosul," Joint Chiefs Chairman General Joe Dunford said at a military event in Washington.

"Timing of that operation now is really just a function of a political decision by Prime Minister [Haider al-]Abadi."

Iraq's prime minister pledged that Mosul will be retaken from IS group this year. After a string of territorial defeats over the past year, Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city, is the last major urban territory IS holds in the country.

Mosul had an estimated population of around two million before IS took it over.

Accurate numbers for the population remaining in the city are hard to come by but the United Nations and other officials have said up to one million civilians may still be living under IS rule in the Mosul area.

The Pentagon estimates 3,000 to 4,500 IS fighters are in Mosul.