Iraqi troops, paramilitary forces entirely encircle Mosul

A Kurdish Peshmerga fighter walks in the tunnel once used by the Islamic State (IS) militants at the Bashiqa frontline northeast of Mosul in northern Iraq, Nov 22, 2016. Supported by Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, Iraqi troops kicked off operations last month to take back Mosul. The military operations slowed down as the IS militants used the civilians as human shields. [Photo/Xinhua]

MOSUL, Iraq - The Iraqi security forces and allied paramilitary units, known as Hashd Shaabi, on Wednesday completely encircled the city of Mosul, while the troops continued operations to clear the Islamic State (IS) militants in and out of Mosul after more than a month since a major offensive was launched, the Iraqi military said.

The predominantly Shiite Hashd Shaabi units advanced to west of the IS-held town of Tal Afar, some 70 km west of Mosul, recapturing six villages and seizing the main road between Tal Afar and nearby town of Sinjar, according to a statement issued by the Iraqi Joint Operations Command (JOC).

The latest advance allowed the Hashd Shaabi units to cut off the IS supply routes from the west side of Mosul, and enabling both the paramilitary units and other Iraqi and Kurdish security forces to entirely isolate and surround the city Mosul, preventing IS militants from moving outside Mosul, the statement said.

The paramilitary units started their advance on Tuesday morning when they moved to encircle the town of Tal Afar, preparing for the next stage to free it from the IS militants.

The units' presence in the whole area in west of Mosul would also enable them to secure the border areas between Iraq and neighboring Syria and would cut off the IS supply routes between Mosul and the Syrian city of Raqqa, the capital of IS self-declared caliphate.

On Nov 16, the paramilitary troops recaptured a strategic airbase near the town of Tal Afar, which also located some 80 km from the border with Syria.