ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Senior Iraqi officials visited the Gwer-Makhmour frontline for talks with Kurdish commanders, as speculation whirls about the timing of an expected assault to liberate Mosul from the Islamic State (ISIS).
Osama Nujafi, an Iraqi vice president who has been appointed the head of operations to liberate Mosul, visited the frontline together with Iraqi Defense Minister Khaled al-Obaidi. The delegation met with Sirwan Barzani, general commander of Kurdish forces on the Gwer frontline.
Nujaifi told reporters on site that, since their retreat from Shingal, the Islamic State (ISIS) militants are demoralized, and that the Iraqi Army has began preparations for a “historical victory” in Mosul.
“We thank the Peshmerga forces who bravely fight and assist the Iraqi army in liberating Mosul,” he said.
“Today, we held a successful meeting with the Peshmarga,” Obaidi said.
No official time frame has been set to push the militants out of Mosul, which they captured in June. US military officials have said no offensive is possible until enough of the collapsed Iraqi army has been rebuilt for the fight.
Kurdistan Region President Massoud Barzani has ruled out that the Peshmerga will do the brunt of the fighting for Mosul.
Nujaifi, meanwhile, said that the Peshmerga are part of the Iraqi military and are funded by the central government. But the funding issue has been a thorny one, with Erbil complaining that Baghdad has not always lived up to its obligations to the Kurdish force.
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