Arab Paper Blames US for Stopping Anti-ISIL Operations in Mosul

Rasa - The Iraqi forces' mandatory break in the midst of operations to liberate the strategic city of Mosul from the ISIL control is related to the power transfer in the US, a leading Arabic-language newspaper wrote on Saturday.

News ID: 426013

Date: 24 December 2016 - 23:23

RNA - Al-Akhbar quoted sources as saying that there are two views about operations in Mosul; the American view and the Iranian one. The first view says that the US is attempting to buy time and therefore pressures the operations room to delay resumption of the operations under different pretexts, including change of military strategy and recruiting forces.

On the other side is the second view which underlines the Hashd al-Shaabi (Iraqi popular forces)'s determination to continue operations in Mosul and Tal Afar; specially while Tehran supports Baghdad to complete the process of anti-terrorism operations, the sources said.

Some analysts believe that resumption of operations in Mosul is waiting for US President-elect Donald Trump but the field commanders say that they cannot wait until Trump's presidency as the ISIL would most possibly recruits its forces, they added.

In relevant remarks last month, a senior commander of Iraq's popular forces underlined that the US-led anti-ISIL coalition is a cover-up for the West's support for the ISIL Takfiri terrorists in Iraq, and asked the Iraqi government to take serious measures against Washington.

"The US supports for the ISIL is a big plot against the Iraqi popular forces and we ask the Baghdad government to take serious measures to confront the US crimes," Spokesman for Asaeb Ahl Al-Haq Battalion (one of the popular forces fighting alongside the Iraqi army) Javad al-Talibavi told.

He reiterated that whenever the Iraqi popular forces gain victories against the ISIL, the US increases its supports for the terrorist groups.

"This is blatant violation of the international laws and it shows to what extent the US is benefiting from prolonging the war in Iraq while it helps the ISIL to kill more Iraqi youth," he added.

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