Iraqi security forces take part in an operation against Islamic State militants at the al-Shura area, south of Mosul October 29, 2016. REUTERS/Stringer
NINEVEH, Iraq: Iraqi forces have captured two more villages near the northern city of Mosul from Islamic State 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 Islamic State overran in mid-2014.
While most villages on the city’s outskirts have since fallen, Islamic State remains in control of Mosul, the last Islamic State stronghold in northern Iraq.
