Middle East

Dec. 29, 2016 | 08:20 AM (Last updated: December 29, 2016 | 05:29 PM)

Iraqi forces launch second phase of Mosul offensive against ISIS

Members of Hashid Shaabi or Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) fire towards ISIS militant positions in west of Mosul, Iraq, December 28, 2016. REUTERS/Stringer

Reuters

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Summary

Iraqi security forces launched a fresh advance Thursday against ISIS militants in several southeastern districts of Mosul, where the fight had been stalled for about a month, Interior Ministry officials said.

The battle for Mosul, involving 100,000 Iraqi troops, members of the Kurdish security forces and Shi'ite militiamen, is the biggest ground operation in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion of 2003 .

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who previously pledged to retake Mosul by the end of the year, said this week it would take another three months to rout ISIS in Iraq.