Iraqi troops have managed to retake a village south of the Daesh-held city of Mosul as their liberation operations continue in the area. The Nineveh Operations Command said in a Sunday statement that government forces, equipped with tanks and armored vehicles, recaptured the village of Kharaib Jabr on the western bank of Tigris River. The village rests near the southern outskirts of Mosul, which has served as the main stronghold of Daesh terrorists in Iraq since 2014. The troops also killed at least 25 terrorists during fierce clashes with them and destroyed four of their explosives-rigged vehicles. According to some military officials involved in the operation, the army forces are already advancing towards the village of Haj Ali, about 60 kilometers (40 miles) south of Mosul. Daesh positions in the village have also come under airstrikes and artillery fire. Reports say at least two Daesh workshops dedicated to make bomb-rigged cars in the village were destroyed during the attacks. Fighters from the Iraq's Popular Mobilization units and Kurdish forces are also involved in the liberation operations carried out in the embattled Nineveh Province. Iraqi forces are also pressing ahead with a major offensive to free Fallujah in the western province of Anbar. Daesh overran Fallujah in January 2014, six months before the terror group proceeded with its offensive, taking more areas in Iraq. Reports say Iraqi forces have recently managed to force back the terrorists from the strategic Subeihat and Falahat areas west of the city. On May 23, the Iraqi military started a large-scale push to drive out militants from Fallujah, located nearly 70 kilometers west of the capital, Baghdad. Thousands of civilians have fled their homes out of fear for their lives but tens of thousands remain trapped there. Aid groups and locals say Daesh terrorists use Fallujah residents as human shields to slow down army advances. The northern and western parts of Iraq have been plagued by gruesome violence ever since Daesh terrorists mounted an offensive in the country in June 2014. The Iraqi army together with fighters from the Popular Mobilization units has been engaged in operations to liberate militant-held regions.
