Iraqi forces on Sunday (June 12th) kicked off a large-scale military operation to liberate key villages to the south of Mosul from "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant" (ISIL) control, Ninawa governor Nofal al-Sultan said Monday.
Joint Iraqi forces have already liberated the villages of al-Hajj Ali and Kharaeb Jabr, al-Sultan said in a press conference.
"An armoured brigade arrived in Makhmour district to support the joint forces that are fighting ISIL just 60 kilometres from central Mosul," he said.
"The operation aims to gradually retake ISIL-controlled areas all the way to Mosul's administrative borders in preparation to launch an attack to liberate it from ISIL," he added.
