Group opposed by Turkey launches operation to ‘cut Mosul off from Syria’

BAGHDAD – Agence France-Presse

Iraqi people walk and drive on a road between Qayyarah and the main hub city of Mosul on Oct 28 during an operation of Iraqi forces to retake the city from ISIL. AFP photo

Iraqi paramilitaries launched an operation on Oct. 29 to retake the town of Tal Afar from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group and cut jihadist supply lines from Mosul to Syria, a spokesman said.

Forces from the Hashed al-Shaabi, a paramilitary umbrella organization dominated by Iran-backed Shiite militias, have largely been on the sidelines since the operation to retake Mosul from ISIL was launched last week.

"The operation aims to cut supplies between Mosul and Raqqa and tighten the siege [of ISIL] in Mosul and liberate Tal Afar," Hashed spokesman Ahmed al-Assadi told AFP, referring to ISIL's main strongholds in Iraq and Syria.

Assadi said the operation aimed to retake the towns of Hatra and Tal Abta as well as Tal Afar, Assadi said.
The
operation could bring the fighting perilously close to the ancient city of Hatra, located northeast of the town of the same name, a UNESCO world heritage site that has already been vandalized by ISIL.
The involvement of Shiite militias in the Mosul operation has been a source of contention, although some of the Hashed's top commanders insist they do not plan to enter the largely Sunni city.

Iraqi Kurds and Sunni Arab politicians have opposed their involvement, as has Turkey, which has a military presence east of Mosul despite repeated demands by Baghdad for the forces to be withdrawn.

Relations between the Hashed and the U.S.-led coalition fighting ISIL are also tense, but the paramilitaries enjoy widespread support among members of Iraq's Shiite majority.

Tal Afar was a Shiite-majority town before the Sunni extremists of ISIL overran it in 2014, and its recapture is a main goal of Shiite militia forces.

ISIL overran large areas north and west of Baghdad in 2014, but Iraqi forces have since regained significant ground and Mosul is the last big city held by the jihadists in the country.