Atheel al-Nujaifi: Shiite militia want to fight ISIS in Nineveh battles
Rudaw
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Former Nineveh governor Atheel al-Nujaifi believes that the Shiite militia known as Hashd al Shaabi want to fight for Tel Afar and the Nineveh plains to help inch closer to the Islamic State’s (ISIS) stronghold of Mosul.
“The Hashd al-Shaabi wish to take part in the Tel Afar and Nineveh plains, but until now there has been no decision about them taking part in the fighting for Mosul,” Nujaifi told Rudaw.
“Hashd al-Shaabi pay attention to Tel Afar and Nineveh plains because they are strategic locations,” said Nujaifi, who has been put in charge of the Sunni militia known as Hashd al-Watani.
Regarding the preparation of Mosul operation and the forces set to take part in the battle he said that “several agreements have been signed with the Americans regarding Mosul operation.”
“The forces that are set to fight for Mosul include the Iraqi army, Peshmerga forces, Hashd al-Watani and Iraqi police forces,” he continued.
The battle for Mosul has been repeatedly postponed over the past year as the Iraqi army has been more focused on retaking territory from the militants in central parts of the country.
“There are some forces that will participate in the operation outside the outskirts of Mosul such as Hashd al-Ashary [tribal force],” Nujaifi said. “The major role will be handed to the Iraqi army, police and Hashd al-Watani.”
The United States announced last month that it would send an additional 560 troops to Iraq.
The decision to send more US troops to Iraq was met with an angry response from radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who said there was no need for foreign forces in the Mosul battle. “They will be a target for us,” he warned.
The anticipated offensive to push ISIS out of Mosul is expected to involve the Iraqi army and its allied militias, Kurdish Peshmerga forces, and the US-led coalition, which has been providing air support in the war against the militants in Iraq and Syria.
Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city some 400 km north of Baghdad, fell to ISIS in June 2014 when an estimated 1,300 militants occupied government offices, army facilities and the airport, forcing thousands of civilians to flee.
