For Mosul offensive, first batch of Iraqi army arrived in Makhmour

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A military brigade from the Nineveh Operation Command arrived in the Makhmour region on Tuesday as part of the preparations underway for the long-anticipated Mosul offensive against Islamic State (ISIS) militants, a Peshmerga commander told Rudaw.

"The [Iraqi force] in coordination with the Peshmerga and following a meeting, attended by US representatives, was permitted entry [into the town]," said the Peshmerga commander of the Makhmour-Gwer front Sirwan Barzani.

Barzani added that "the brigade has undergone military training near Baghdad and they have been fully armed with light, medium and heavy weapons."

Meanwhile, Iraq’s defense ministry said earlier this week that it would deploy some 4,500 soldiers to the Makhmour front in preparation for the long-anticipated offensive against ISIS in Mosul.