Iraq army seizes key airbase from ISIS near Mosul

Iraqi security forces pose for pictures as they celebrate their victory in Fallujah, Iraq, Tuesday, June 28, 2016. Iraqi forces declared Sunday they had ‘fully liberated’ Fallujah from the Sunni-led extremist group that took over the city 40 miles (65 kilometers) west of Baghdad more than two years ago. The operation, backed by airstrikes from a U.S.-led coalition, began May 22, and involved a number of different Iraqi security forces: elite special operations troops, federal police, Anbar provincial police, and an umbrella group of government-approved mostly Shiite militias. AP

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraqi forces have captured a key airbase from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group that can serve as a launchpad for retaking the jihadist-held city of Mosul, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Saturday.

The Qayyarah airbase in the Tigris valley 60 kilometers (35 miles) south of Mosul would be “an important base for the liberation of Mosul,” Abadi said in a statement.

He called for the people of Iraq’s northwestern Nineveh province, of which Mosul is the capital, to “prepare for the liberation of their cities.”

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Iraq’s Joint Operations Command said two army divisions and members of the country’s counter-terrorism forces took the base with air support from a US-led international coalition.

Security sources said jihadists had fled towards Mosul after the base was taken.

An officer taking part in the operation said bomb disposal teams were removing booby traps and mines left behind by ISIS fighters.

No further details were immediately available on the scale of fighting for the base.

At the end of last month, Iraqi forces recaptured Fallujah, a city 50 kilometers (30 miles) west of Baghdad, in a major setback for ISIS.

That focused attention on the battle to remove ISIS from the northwest of the country.

In recent months, ISIS has lost significant parts of the territory north and west of Baghdad which it seized in 2014.

The fighting to get into Fallujah was initially fierce, particularly on the southern side, and Iraqi forces were supported by more than 100 US-led coalition air strikes.

On June 26, Abadi stood outside a hospital in Fallujah and vowed that the Iraqi flag would soon be raised over Mosul.

In his statement on Saturday, he said government forces had advanced 100 kilometers (60 miles) in the past few days.

“This is important revenge against the terrorist gangs, which we will crush and cleanse from all of our land very soon,” he said.

Rights groups have raised concerns about alleged abuses carried out by Iraqi forces during the fight for Fallujah, including executions of civilians.

Human Rights Watch called on the government on Thursday to be transparent about an inquiry into the alleged abuses, which it said was “mired in secrecy”.

More than 80,000 people have been displaced since the start of the Fallujah offensive, bringing to more than 3.3 million the number of Iraqis forced from their homes by conflict since the start of 2014.

The Sunni extremist group has responded to its battlefield setbacks by hitting back against civilians, particularly Shiites.

Experts have warned there may be more bombings as the jihadists continue to lose ground.

ISIS said it had carried out an attack on a Shiite shrine north of Baghdad that started Thursday evening and killed 30 people.

That came just days after a devastating bombing in the capital that killed 292 people.