RNA - The Iraqi army’s ongoing battle against Daesh (ISIL or ISIS) to liberate the northern city of Mosul from the terrorist group is being carried out with the help of the country’s popular forces, Hakim said during a press conference in Tehran on Monday.
Highlighting unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iraq, he said that no foreign troops can participate in the operation without the coordination of the central government.
The National Alliance, comprising all Shiite groups and partisan blocs, is the largest political bloc in Iraq in the post-2003 era that holds 185 out of 328 parliamentary seats.
Hakim, the head of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI), was elected as leader of the National Alliance on September 5.The Iraqi official further said the reason behind the army’s slow pace in recapturing Mosul is the government’s concern for lives of the civilians being used as human shield by the Takfiri group in the area.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Hakim thanked Iran for its unwavering support for the Iraqi government and nation in their fight against terrorism.
Iran has been supporting Iraq in its anti-terror fight. On August 10, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi hailed the presence of Iranian military advisers in the country’s battle against Daesh terrorists and said the Iranian advisers are present in Iraq at Baghdad’s request.
Since October 17, the Iraqi army, volunteer Shiite and Sunni fighters as well as Kurdish Peshmarga forces have been engaged in an offensive to liberate Mosul, the last stronghold of the Daesh terrorist group in the country.
The city, which is divided by the Tigris River, fell to Daesh in 2014, the year the terror outfit began its campaign of death and destruction in northern and western Iraq.
Federal police chief General Shaker Jodat said recently that troops had purged 1,850 square kilometers of Mosul’s southern front of Daesh terrorists and freed more than 10,000 families.
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