5:32pm
Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi said that the operation to liberate Mosul from ISIS is going faster than expected.
“We are getting into the final war to liberate our territories and the operation to liberate Mosul is going faster than the scheduled time,” he said in a statement.
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5:29pm
Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi denies Turkey’s claim of a role in the operation to evict ISIS from Mosul.
“The planning and execution of the battle is Iraqi and there are no foreign combat troops on the ground,” Abadi said in a statement. “We do not want the Turkish military force and the Turkish side’s claim of participating in the war is untrue,” he added.
Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu claimed earlier Monday that four Turkish Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon jet fighters are taking part in the Mosul operation.
Turkey is a member of the US-led coalition against ISIS but hasn’t participated in coalition airstrikes on Mosul since this current operation began over a week ago.
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4:40pm
Brig. Ma'an Zeid Ibrahim, an Iraqi army commander, told Rudaw that Iraqi forces have "complete control over Hamdaniya and are now advancing on Bazaiya," both of them towns southeast of Mosul. He added that four more villages around Hamdaniya were freed from ISIS in operations today.
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Iran says that Turkey's bid for involvement in the operation to evict ISIS from its Mosul stronghold is unacceptable if unapproved by the Iraqi government.
"We consider intervention of foreign countries (in Iraq and Syria) under the excuse of fighting terrorism, and without coordination with the host country, very dangerous, whether it is the armed forces, air force or ground force," Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Monday, without referring to Turkey by name.
Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi echoed similar remarks.
"We hope that the Iraqi army, along with paramilitary forces such as al-Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilisation Forces) and Kurdish forces and others under the supervision of the Iraqi government can soon manage to clear away the terrorists from the area (Mosul)," he said.
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Rudaw uncovers ISIS tunnels south of Mosul
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2:49pm
Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu claimed on Monday that four Turkish Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon jet fighters are taking part in the Mosul operation against ISIS, CNN Turk reported.
Turkey is a member of the US-led coalition against ISIS but hasn’t participated in coalition airstrikes on Mosul since this current operation began over a week ago.
Cavusoglu’s claim comes a day after Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said that Turkish artillery fired at ISIS in support of a Kurdish Peshmerga offensive against ISIS in the town of Bashiqa, Iraq opposes any Turkish participation in the Mosul operation.
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1:01pm
A Kurdish commander says the Peshmerga did not ask Turkey for artillery support to back their offensive against ISIS in Bashiqa, denying a Turkish claim to the contrary.
“Since the launch of the Mosul operation to this day we have not asked Turkey to give us artillery support against terrorist positions in any way,” Peshmerga Brig. Gen. Eskender Gerdi told Rudaw on Monday.
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim claimed on Sunday that the Peshmerga had asked Turkey to support their offensive against Bashiqa town with artillery. “They (the Peshmerga) asked for our help from our soldiers at Bashiqa base. We are providing support with artillery, tanks and howitzers,” Yildirim told reporters.
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12:32pm
Peshmerga liberate village of Tiz Khrab Gawra in the Bashiqa area, Rudaw correspondent Nabard Hussein reports.
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12:17pm
Civilians seen leaving Faziliyah village near town of Bashiqa. The village has been completely surrounded by Kurdish Peshmerga forces for two days.
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12:03pm
Footage shows Peshmerga forces shouting for joy as they detonate ISIS car bomb near Bashiqa front
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11:30am
Many homes have raised white flags on their rooftops in Faziliyah village, Bashiqa as the place is fully surrounded by Kurdish Peshmerga forces.
09:50am
A senior Peshmerga commander confirmed to Rudaw that the town of Bashiqa has been encircled by Kurdish forces.
“We have encircled Bashiqa, and we are now digging trenches before we launch an attack” Major General Said Hazhar, deputy commander for the Zeravani forces told Rudaw English.
He added that the Peshmerga forces have not entered the town.
Meanwhile, Rudaw’s correspondent Nabard Hussein reported that the Peshmerga forces have liberated the Tiz Khrab Bchuk after it was cordoned off on Sunday.
One week into #Mosul operation, all objectives met thus far, and more coalition airstrikes than any other 7-day period of war against #ISIL.
— Brett McGurk (@brett_mcgurk) October 24, 2016
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09:15am
A Peshmerga commander west of Mosul said that they repelled an ISIS assault on their positions near the Yezidi town of Shingal (Sinjar) Monday morning, killing at least 15 militants and destroying seven vehicles.
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8:00am
Kurdish Peshmerga forces have amassed around the town of Bashiqa northeast of Mosul for the second day, trying to wrest control of it from ISIS militants.
Media director of the Peshmerga ministry Halgurd Hikmat told Rudaw Sunday evening that their forces were in full control of the town, but reports from the frontline indicate that the place is still under ISIS grip.
Earlier on Sunday, the Peshmerga General Command said in a statement that they have taken control of a stretch of a highway connecting the town to Mosul, preventing ISIS reinforcements. They had also cordoned off eight villages in the area.
As of Monday morning, clashes were reported between the Kurdish forces and ISIS around Bashiqa while the Turkish military announced that their artillery had hit ISIS positions during the Bashiqa offensive.
Bashiqa is a multiethnic town that fell to ISIS in summer 2014.
Its recapture would bring the advancing Kurdish and Iraqi armies to ISIS's Mosul stronghold.
