Mosul close to liberation from IS -- coalition

WASHINGTON, Oct 13 (KUNA) -- Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) are close to liberating the city of Mosul, said the US-led coalition against the so-called Islamic State (IS).
"Nearly all of the 12 Iraqi brigades the coalition is training have completed their instruction. The last brigade will finish in the next couple of weeks," the spokesperson for the Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR), Col. John Dorrian told reporters, late on Wednesday.
While "the size of Mosul makes this by far the largest task the ISF has undertaken to date, an order of magnitude larger than the liberation battles in cities like Ramadi, Fallujah and Sharqat," he said. "We believe that the Iraqis are well positioned to be successful and of course we'll be there with our strikes so that as the enemy becomes evident, we'll strike them and help the Iraqis advance," he added.
Baghdad is also working with the UN to plan for the internally-displaced persons (IDPs) that may flee the fighting in Mosul, Dorrian noted.
"The government of Iraq is directing 20 internally-displaced person camp sites and is working with the UN and NGOs to pre-position resources to take care of IDPs," he said. "Coalition planners are attending those meetings and assisting the ISF with their planning efforts," he said.
Meanwhile, along the Euphrates Valley, the ISF "successfully attacked the enemy on multiple fronts to remove them from the eastern side of the Euphrates north and south of Hit," Dorian explained. In the past few days Iraqi soldiers "completed clearance operations along the Euphrates River valley, connecting their northern and southern forward battle lines with about 230 kilometers of contiguous cleared area between Baghdad and Haditha," he added.(end) ys.ag