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Iraq Poised to Retake Mosul, Daesh Can't 'Conduct Full-Fledged Military Action'

© Photo : Hikmet DurgunA Yazidi soldier taking part in a military operation to liberate Mosul. file photo
A Yazidi  soldier taking part in a  military operation to liberate Mosul. file photo - Sputnik International
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The Daesh terrorists' combat capabilities are nearly exhausted, and they are no longer capable of preventing Mosul from being liberated by Iraqi and Kurdish troops, Yazidi fighter Newsal Haci told Sputnik Turkey.

Iraqi autonomous Kurdish region's peshmerga forces and fighters from the Yazidi minority, a local Kurdish-speaking community which the Islamic State (IS) group had brutally targeted in the area, enter the northern Iraqi town of Sinjar, in the Nineveh Province, on November 13, 2015 - Sputnik International
Fierce Battle Rages Between Yazidi Forces and Daesh in Sinjar (VIDEO)
In an interview with Sputnik Turkey, Yazidi soldier Newsal Haci, who serves with the Iraqi army, pointed to the inability of Daesh (ISIL/ISIS) to resist the liberation of Mosul, where he said the terrorists' combat capabilities' are already running out.

He added that the Iraqi army is sweeping through territory formerly held by Daesh terrorists, and that the Iraqi forces currently need to cover just five kilometers to reach Mosul.

© Sputnik / Hikmet DurgunNewsal Heci
Newsal Heci - Sputnik International
Newsal Heci

"We are fighting for a democratic and secular Iraq, and we intend to liberate Mosul and the Yazidi people from Daesh terrorists at all costs," according to Haci. The Yazidis, an indigenous ethnic group with their own religion and customs, have been routinely oppressed and even enslaved under jihadist rule. 

"The jihadists' efforts are running out, and they already cannot conduct full-blow military activity, and are instead focusing on staging car bomb and trap mine explosions," he said.

© Sputnik / Hikmet DurgunA Yazidi fighter taking part in the Iraqi army's operation to liberate Mosul
A Yazidi fighter taking part in the Iraqi army's operation to liberate Mosul  - Sputnik International
A Yazidi fighter taking part in the Iraqi army's operation to liberate Mosul

Haci added that it is due to the fact that Daesh can no longer fight as they did before that the terrorists started to resort to such tactics.

"We continue to move forward. To date, we have managed to kill more than 80 jihadists," he concluded.

© Sputnik / Hikmet DurgunYazidi fighters taking part in the Iraqi army's operation to liberate Mosul
Yazidi fighters taking part in the Iraqi army's operation to liberate Mosul  - Sputnik International
Yazidi fighters taking part in the Iraqi army's operation to liberate Mosul

Meanwhile, Fezile Mustafa from the village of Terzilla near Mosul which was recently liberated from Daesh terrorists told Sputnik that she and her five children would only return to the village after the Iraqi army drives Daesh out of Mosul.

© Sputnik / Hikmet DurgunYazidi fighters taking part in the Iraqi army's operation to liberate Mosul
Yazidi fighters taking part in the Iraqi army's operation to liberate Mosul  - Sputnik International
Yazidi fighters taking part in the Iraqi army's operation to liberate Mosul

She said that "it is simply impossible" to return to Terzilla now that the village had been sacked and her home destroyed.

"We will return only after Mosul is liberated. Perhaps more than anything else, we want two things, namely, the liberation of Mosul from Daesh and to return home," she added.

© Sputnik / HİKMET DURGUNHezale Mustafa
Hezale Mustafa   - Sputnik International
Hezale Mustafa

On October 17, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi announced the start of a military operation to retake Mosul from Daesh.

Iraqi forces gather in the al-Shura area, south of Mosul, on October 24, 2016, during an operation to retake the main hub city from the Islamic State (IS) group jihadists - Sputnik International
Mosul Op Means 'End of Daesh,' But Wider Terror Fight Needs All Hands on Deck
According to local media, about 30,000 Iraqi soldiers and 4,000 Kurdish Peshmerga fighters are taking part in the operation, which is backed by the airstrikes being carried out by the US-led international coalition.

Earlier this week, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said that Turkish artillery and tanks are supporting Peshmerga's efforts to liberate Mosul, adding that if necessary Turkish air forces may assist in in the military operation.

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