Iraqi forces push into town near Mosul after ISIS assault on Kirkuk
U.S. Defence Secretary Ash Carter now in Baghdad to oversee military advance
The Iraqi army pushed into a town near Mosul on Saturday, a day after dozens of militants with Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) stormed into the northern city of Kirkuk, setting off two days of clashes and killing at least 80 people, mostly security forces.
U.S. Defence Secretary Ash Carter meanwhile met with Iraq's prime minister and commanders in Baghdad to discuss the offensive to retake Mosul, which is still held by ISIS. The U.S. is supporting the action with airstrikes and advisers on the ground.
The Iraqi army said the 9th Division has pushed into the town of Hamdaniyah, also known as Qaraqosh and Bakhdida and raised the flag over its government compound, but the troops likely were facing resistance in and around the town. Similar past announcements have often proved premature.
The town is around 20 kilometres from Mosul. Iraqi forces launched a wide-scale offensive earlier this week aimed at retaking Mosul, the country's second largest city, which fell to ISIS in 2014.
Plans to surround heavily mined Mosul
Karim Sinjari, the interior minister of the Kurdish regional government, said Iraqi forces plan to surround Mosul from all sides. He also reported troops had advanced to within five kilometres of the city.
The much smaller town of Hamdaniyah is believed to be largely uninhabited. ISIS has heavily mined the approaches to Mosul, and Iraqi forces have had to contend with roadside bombs, snipers and suicide truck bombs as they move closer to the city.
ISIS said it foiled an attack on Hamdaniyah and seized vehicles and weapons left by retreating Shia militiamen. The claim, carried by the extremist group's Aamaq news agency, could not be confirmed.
An Iraqi television station says one of its reporters was shot dead near Mosul, the second journalist in as many days to be killed while covering the conflict.
Alsumaria TV says cameraman Ali Risan was shot in the chest by a sniper Saturday during a battle in the al-Shura area.
In another development, a hospital south of Mosul says it has treated nearly 1,000 people reporting breathing problems from a fire at a sulfur factory in the oil-producing region of Qayara.
ISIS militants have been setting oil wells and factories on fire before fleeing the region.
Iraqi forces retook the town of Bartella, around 15 kilometres east of Mosul, earlier this week, but are still facing pockets of resistance in the area.
ISIS meanwhile launched a massive attack in and around Kirkuk, some 170 kilometres southeast of Mosul before dawn Friday in an apparent attempt to divert Iraqi security forces from the push on Mosul. Fighting raged throughout the day, with heavy gunfire echoing across the city and smoke rising over the skyline.
Brig. Gen. Khattab Omer of the Kirkuk police said Saturday morning that all the attackers were killed or blew themselves up. The area around the provincial headquarters, where the fighting was heaviest, was quiet Saturday morning.
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Witnesses said there were ongoing clashes in the Asra wa Mafkudin neighbourhood, where at least two ISIS fighters were killed Saturday. They spoke on condition of anonymity out of security concerns.
Col. Redah Sheikh Latif, of the Kurdish peshmerga forces in Kirkuk, confirmed there were ongoing skirmishes between ISIS snipers and security forces in the neighbourhood but said the situation was contained. He said there was also some ongoing fighting in the suburb of Wara Tappa.
The militants killed 13 workers, including four Iranians, at a power plant north of Kirkuk on Friday, and a local TV reporter was killed by a sniper in the city. It was not clear if there were other casualties among civilians or the Kurdish security forces who control Kirkuk.
Iraq launched a long-awaited operation on Monday aimed at liberating Mosul, its second largest city, which fell to ISIS in 2014. It is the largest operation undertaken by Iraqi forces since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion and is expected to take weeks, if not months.
Carter's visit comes two days after a U.S. service member was killed outside Mosul, underscoring the risk that American troops are taking as they advise Iraqi forces in the fight.
The U.S. service member killed earlier this week was the fourth U.S. combat death in Iraq since the U.S. began military operations against ISIS in August 2014, and the first since the Mosul operation began. The service member was working with Iraqi special forces northeast of Mosul and serving as an explosive ordnance disposal specialist.
More than 4,800 U.S. troops are in Iraq and there are more than 100 U.S. special operations forces operating with Iraqi units. Hundreds more American troops are playing a support role in staging bases farther from the front lines.
With files from Reuters