Iraq: Army captures key Islamic State air base of Qayyarah in the Tigris valley south of Mosul
Iraqi forces have captured a key air base from the Islamic State group that can serve as a launch pad for retaking the jihadist-held city of Mosul, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has said.
The Qayyarah air base in the Tigris valley 60 kilometres south of Mosul would be “an important base for the liberation of Mosul,” Mr Abadi said in a statement.
He called for the people of Iraq’s northwestern Nineveh province, of which Mosul is the capital, to “prepare for the liberation of their cities.”
Iraq’s Joint Operations Command said two army divisions and members of the country’s counter-terrorism forces took the base with air support from a US-led international coalition.