Iraq launches operation to retake Mosul from IS

Baghdad (AFP) – Iraqi troops and militia launched a long-awaited operation on Thursday to recapture second city Mosul from jihadists of the Islamic State group who have held it since June 2014, the military said.

The army and the Popular Mobilisation paramilitary force “have begun the first phase of conquest operations” in Nineveh province, of which Mosul is the capital, the joint operations command said in a statement.