Iraqi army radio station aimed at ISIS-held population

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region--The Iraqi army started broadcasting a radio news channel in the Makhmour region last week in order to fight Islamic State (ISIS) through the media, said an official from the Iraqi army.

The Voice of Nineveh Liberation Operation transmitting on frequency 89.8, launched when the first batch of the Iraqi army arrived in Makhmour last week.

"People from Gayara and Makhmour outskirts can listen to the radio broadcast," Salim Ahmed, a member of the radio crew, told Rudaw. "People in the ISIS-held territories are happy to listen to our radio."

"We are sending them messages that we intend to liberate them from the darkness and oppression of Daesh. With the help of God we are close to them," Ahmed added using an alternate name for ISIS.

A military brigade from the Nineveh Operation Command of the Iraqi army arrived in the Makhmour region on February 9 as part of the preparations underway for the Mosul offensive against ISIS.

Four soldiers are running the radio. They air national anthems and slogans, and pledge that the zero hour for liberating Mosul is close.

As of now, the radio broadcast is mainly in Arabic but there are plans to air their news and messages in Kurdish too as there are many Kurds living in Mosul.

"There are subjects we are broadcasting in Kurdish language, but the majority of our programmes are in Arabic and we have signed an agreement with a Kurdish channel to translate some of the messages [from Arabic] to Kurdish," said Firas Mustafa, manager of the radio station.