(15 Oct 2016) In Iraq's north, troops are building up around militant-held Mosul ahead of an expected operation to retake the city from the Islamic State group (IS).
"Our equipment is enough now to begin the battle", said Maj. Gen. Najim al-Jabouri, the head of Nineveh operations command and one of the top Iraqi military generals overseeing the Mosul operation.
Al-Jabouri said that while IS still controls pockets of territory to the south and west of Mosul, Iraq's second largest city is the current focus of the country's military operations.
"The head of the snake is Mosul", he said.
The Mosul operation is expected to be the most complex yet for Iraq's military that is still rebuilding from the humiliating defeat it suffered when Mosul initially fell to IS more than two years ago.
Some 30,000 troops are expected to participate in the battle, according to Iraqi and coalition officials.
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