By Ahmed Qasim and Ibrahim Salih
NINEVEH, Iraq (AA) – Iraqi forces have captured two more villages near the northern city of Mosul from Daesh militants, according to an Iraqi army officer.
Ahmed al-Shemari, a captain in the Iraqi army’s Nineveh Operations Command, said army forces seized control of the villages of al-Hokool and Ali Rash north and east of Mosul.
On Oct. 18, the Iraqi army — backed by U.S.-led coalition airstrikes — launched a much-anticipated operation to retake Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city which Daesh overran in mid-2014.
While most villages on the city’s outskirts have since fallen, Daesh remains in control of Mosul, the last Daesh stronghold in northern Iraq.
