Iraqi police destroyed sites controlled by ISIS in Mousl

Iraqi Federal police managed to destroy a number of vital sites controlled by ISIS and killed a number of its extremist militants and snipers during the battles witnessed currently in the right bank of Mousl. Meanwhile, U.S Defense and Security Coordination Agency pledged to provide Peshmerga troops with nearly $ 296-million weapons and other military equipment to support them during their current fight against the extremist militias.

German Foreign Minister Ziegmar Gabriel, on his hand, said that his country will increase its humanitarian support to Iraq, strengthen the army, and continue in its role as a member of the coalition in the ongoing Mosul military operation to evict Islamic radicals from the city. Speaking in a press conference with his Iraqi counterpart Ibrahim al-Jaafari, Sigmar Gabriel said Germany supports Iraq in humanitarian affairs.

The German foreign minister said his country would continue to increase the level of supplies to the Iraqi army.Germany has been a main supplier of weapons to the Iraqi army and Kurdish Peshmerga forces since the start of the war against ISIS nearly three years ago, providing anti-tank Milan missiles that have proven effective against car bombs on the frontlines.

In the same context, Despite the confidence U.S. and coalition commanders express in the Iraqi forces carrying the brunt of the fighting, the Pentagon is poised to push through a nearly $300 million heavy weapons and artillery package requested by Baghdad for the Mosul fight. The Defense Department notified Congress of the specifics of the deal on Wednesday.

The package will outfit two full infantry brigades and two support artillery battalions of the Kurdish peshmerga with body armor, heavy machine guns, mine-proof tactical vehicles and 105 mm Howitzers, according to the Pentagon. The peshmerga, the Kurdish paramilitary force, was integral in stemming the Islamic State’s drive through Syria and Iraq two years ago. Those forces again proved invaluable as part of the Iraqi-led invasion of Mosul.

Also tucked into the Pentagon’s aid package was defensive equipment to protect Kurdish militia members from chemical attacks.

The Islamic State has launched 52 chemical strikes against coalition forces in Iraq and Syria, the London-based IHS conflict monitor said in a report published late last year. Of those 52 attacks, 19 were carried out in and around Mosul, according to the report.

Gen. Martin confirmed that Iraqi troops were injured by an Islamic State chemical attack in western Mosul this week. He declined to comment during Wednesday’s briefing whether American and Australian military advisers who were attached to the targeted Iraqi unit had been injured during the attack. As the Islamic State faces looming defeat in the country, the Iraqi government is making the case that the cost of rebuilding the war-torn country after the terrorist group’s ouster could dwarf the campaign to eradicate it.

On the other hand, Diyala Police Command announced, on Wednesday, arresting a terrorist and dismantling four improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in different areas of the province.

Spokesman for Diyala Police, Colonel Ghalib al-Attiya, said in a press statement that forces from Diyala Police, backed by the National Security detachments, arrested a man wanted on charges of terrorism in Hamrin Dam area.

Meanwhile, detachments of Bomb Squad directorate managed to dismantle four improvised explosive devices (one in Balad Ruz District and three on the banks of Diyala River in al-Salam area), Attiya explained.

The improvised explosive devices were dismantled without causing any human or material losses, he further added. Noteworthy, security forces arrested dozens of criminals and terrorists in Diyala in the last months, and also dismantled several bombs and IEDs.

On the political side, Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider Abadi said that the military operation to liberate Mousl reached to its final phase, as he met with the leaders of Popular Mobilization Forces to discuss the planes scheduled to be implemented during the coming period. He added, “We can to liberate the whole territories through the efforts exerted by volunteers and Popular Mobilization Forces.”

Abadi said that "the liberation of the right bank of the city of Mosul is in its final stages," noting that they still have Talaffar, west and southern Nineveh extension of the Iraqi and Syrian borders. He stressed the importance of taking serious steps in this regard during the coming period.