ANKARA (Sputnik) — On Friday, US Central Command (CENTCOM) spokesman Col. John Dorrian said that Iraq’s military had up to 12 army brigades and 18,000 fighters available to retake the city.
"There is information that the Iraqi central government's operation to liberate Mosul from Daesh may begin on October 19. We must be prepared. It is of utmost importance that Peshmerga cooperate with the Arabs in this operation," Erdogan said, as quoted by the Yeni Safak newspaper.
Mosul is Iraq’s second-biggest city and capital of the northwestern province of Ninawa. It has been occupied by Daesh since June 2014 and declared the Iraqi capital of the so-called Daesh caliphate.
