Iraqi military says it has recaptured Hawija town from the Islamic State
With the capture of Hawija, the only area now under the militant group’s control in Iraq is a stretch alongside the western border with Syria.
The Iraqi military on Thursday said they had recaptured the town of Hawija in Iraq, and surrounding areas from the Islamic State, Reuters reported. “The army’s 9th armoured division, the Federal Police, the Emergency Response division and Shia Popular Mobilisation forces liberated Hawija,” said a statement from the joint operations commander, Lieutenant-General Abdul Ameer Rasheed Yarallah.
The Iraqi military had launched the offensive to take Hawija, which is near the oil city of Kirkuk, from the Islamic State on September 21. The Shia Popular Mobilisation Forces, and the Iraqi army began to move towards Hawija on Wednesday, two days after capturing the Rashad airbase 30 kilometres south of the town, Al Jazeera reported. The airbase was used as a training camp and logistics site by the Islamic State.
With the capture of Hawija, the only area now under Islamic State control in Iraq is a stretch alongside the western border with Syria.