US-led coalition’s focus on the liberation of Iraqi Mosul may be explained by the approaching US presidential elections, Soheib Ahmad Kakeh Mahmoud, a journalist from the Kurdish News Network in Iraqi Kurdistan told Sputnik.
Iraqi security forces advance in Qayara, south of Mosul, to attack Islamic State militants in Mosul, Iraq, October 18, 2016 © REUTERS/ Stringer Mosul Liberation Offensive Moves Faster Than Expected – Baghdad Talking to Sputnik Persian, the journalist said that the liberation of Mosul would be a big victory for Barack Obama and it will also provide great support for the democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton. The full-scale operation to liberate Mosul after months of conflict and differences in political negotiations began on direct orders of the Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi and the Commander-in-Chief. Currently multiple parties are involved in the liberation of Mosul such as the Iraqi military, the Kurdish Peshmerga fighters and the international coalition led by the United States. “This refutes the harsh statements of the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has repeatedly stressed that whether Iraq wants it or not, the soldiers of the Turkish Army were involved and will be involved in the operation,” the journalist said. According to the journalist that is not the case because the Secretary General of the Ministry of Peshmerga gave a clear answer saying that such authorization was not given and will not be given to Turkey. “There is a list of the military forces that can be a part of this operation and only those who are in the list can take part,” the journalist said. He further said that, “If we talk about the liberation of the city from Daesh in full efforts by those forces that are fighting there now and other forces, which are direct and indirect sponsors of Daesh in the first place, then I think all of it is just way more complicated.” According to Mahmoud even if the battle for Mosul is not lost, the war will become even harder because the sectorial differences will emerge between Sunni and Shiite troops on religious grounds. RT © Sputnik/ Mikhail Voskresenskiy RT Considers Suing Clinton Campaign Communications Chief Over Disinformation – Editor-in-Chief The journalist said that the revitalization of the Western coalition and its zeal for the liberation of Mosul is explained by the fact that only three weeks are left before the US presidential elections are due to take place. “That is the reason as to why the Americans want to quickly liberate Mosul from Daesh although they could have done it much earlier.” He further said, “The liberation of Mosul will become a proud moment for the Democratic Party president and it will essentially support the candidate in the elections from the same party, Hillary Clinton. There is no other purpose,” Mahmoud said. The journalist added that it is important to note another aspect about Mosul’s liberation operation. “There are some in the Kurdish population who are disgruntled by the fact that the forces of the Kurdish fighters are taking the brunt and are losing most in this battle for Mosul,” Mahmoud said. There is an agreement between the government and President of Iraqi Kurdistan, Masoud Barzani for the unity in fight against a common enemy and that includes the liberation of Mosul. However, it is the Peshmerga forces that are paying the highest price so far in this operation, the journalist stressed. On Monday, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi announced the start of the military operation to retake Mosul from Daesh militants. According to local media, about 30,000 Iraqi soldiers and 4,000 Kurdish Peshmerga fighters are taking part in the operation, backed by airstrikes carried out by the US-led international coalition. Mosul, the second biggest Iraqi city, as well as a number of other northern and western Iraqi cities and towns, was seized in 2014 during an offensive of Daesh terr
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