US Army advisers explore operation sites in Iraq

By Ali Jawad

BAGHDAD

U.S. military advisers alongside Iraqi army commanders explored sites of an upcoming counter-terror operation in northern Iraq, an army official said.

Captain Jabbar Hassan told Anadolu Agency that security officials explored western Sharqat district in Saladin province ahead of an operation to liberate it from the Daesh terror group.

U.S. armored vehicles explored the sites while the advisers monitored the war strategy, he added.

Iraqi forces are preparing to recapture Kirkuk province's Hawija district and Sharqat district from Daesh militants simultaneously.

Last week, Iraqi forces began advancing towards the two districts that have been under Daesh control since 2014.

Both the Peshmerga and Asayish forces of the Iraqi Kurdish Region control the central, northern and eastern areas of Kirkuk province after the Iraqi Army fled from the city in mid-2014.

Late last month, Iraqi forces backed by a U.S.-led coalition captured the Tal Afar district in Nineveh province following a 10-day campaign.

A predominantly Turkmen district, Tal Afar was overrun by the terrorist group -- along with large territories in northern and western Iraq -- in mid-2014.