Iraqi forces massing for push to retake IS-held Mosul

The Iraqi army is deploying thousands of soldiers to a northern base in preparation for operations to retake the Islamic State (IS) group's hub in Mosul, officials said on Monday.

IS seized Mosul in June 2014 and has held Iraq's second city largely unopposed for over 18 months as the country's security forces battled the group’s fighters in other areas.

"Units from the Iraqi army have begun arriving to a military base near the Makhmur district to start launching initial military operations toward Mosul," a staff brigadier general told AFP on condition of anonymity.

"There are three brigades located in that base now," and their number will eventually reach 4,500 soldiers, the officer said, adding that troops from the 15th and 16th divisions will take part in operations to retake Mosul.

Makhmur lies around 70 kms southeast of Mosul.

The initial aim would be to completely sever IS supply lines between Mosul and areas further south including Hawijah in Kirkuk province and areas near Baiji in Salaheddin, the officer said.

A Kurdish official said that most of the soldiers deployed to the area, which is located within territory controlled by the semi-autonomous Kurdish Regional Government, were ethnic Kurds from the Iraqi army.

"These forces came with the approval of the presidency and government of the Kurdistan region of Iraq," said Halgurd Hekmat, a spokesman from the ministry responsible for the region's forces.

The base will be for both soldiers and aircraft, Hekmat said.

Multiple Iraqi army divisions collapsed during the early days of IS's 2014 offensive, which overran large areas north and west of Baghdad.

But Iraqi forces have since recaptured significant areas from IS with the help of US-led air strikes and military training.