Iraq forces retake key town south of Mosul: commander

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QAYYARAH, Iraq: Iraqi forces backed by coalition air strikes on Thursday pushed the Islamic State group from Qayyarah, a northern town considered strategic for any future offensive against the militnats’ last stronghold of Mosul.

“We control all parts of the town and managed, in very limited time, to root out Daesh (IS),” Lieutenant General Riyadh Jalal Tawfik, who commands Iraq’s ground forces, told AFP.