News

Britain, coalition and Iraqi forces sustain momentum against ISIL

Speaking in Iraq, Defence Secretary Michael Fallon has welcomed the progress made in defeating Daesh (ISIL) in Iraq. The news comes after local Iraqi and Coalition forces recently scored a significant victory in the fight against ISIL in eastern Mosul. Fallon highlighted Britain’s commitment to training Iraqi forces, citing that the numbers of Iraqi Security Forces trained by UK and Coalition personnel has increased threefold since October 2016, with around 3,000 Iraqi forces now being trained every month. Overall, 10,000 troops have been trained since the end of October 2016, increasing the Iraqi force’s skills and ability to defeat ISIL. According to a statement from the Ministry of Defence (MoD), the training in countering improvised explosive devices (IEDs) is proving to be vital, as Daesh have booby trapped many parts of eastern Mosul during its occupation. Iraqi forces have been using their training to dispose of these crude devices, allowing their forces to advance and civilians to safely return to their homes. Fallon commented: “Iraqi forces, supported by Britain and the Coalition, have made strong progress in the fight against ISIL. We’re keeping up the momentum with operations to liberate western Mosul due to start shortly. “This will be a more complex fight in a densely populated urban environment. Britain will continue playing its part providing precision strikes, vital intelligence, and training Iraqi forces to deal with explosive devices planted by ISIL.”

Partners

View the latest
digital issue