Takfiri leaders, families fleeing Mosul: Iraqi minister

The Iraqi defense minister says some ISIL Takfiri commanders have fled Mosul in northern Iraq as the army and allies push forward to liberate the city form the grip of terrorists.

“A number of ... leaders (of Daesh) in Mosul, they and their families sold their belongings and withdrew towards Syria,” Khalid al-Obeidi said late Saturday.

The official, who was speaking to Iraqiya state television, said some Daesh (ISIL) commanders and families sought to infiltrate into Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region, located north and east of Mosul.

Iraq is preparing for an offensive into Mosul, the country’s second largest city which fell into the hands of Daesh in the summer of 2014. The city is the last remaining bastion of Daesh in Iraq as the military and allies have managed to retake key towns and villages from the militants over the past months.

Iraqis managed to recapture the city of Fallujah, west of the capital Baghdad, in late June. The city was a main hub of Daesh militancy in Iraq and its liberation boosted hope for Iraq’s final push toward Mosul.

Earlier reports had suggested that Daesh was relocating many of its militants from western and northern Iraq into neighboring Syria.

In an exclusive interview on Friday, Obeidi commended Iran’s “continuous support” for Iraq in its war against the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group, noting however that only Iraqi forces would participate in the liberation of Mosul and the Iraqi government would not allow any foreign country to intervene in the operation.

Obeidi criticized Turkey for sending its troops to Iraq, warning of a war greater than the one against Daesh if Turkey do not draw its forces from northern Iraq.

SS