News
Latest News
news bulletin
Breaking Headlines
Israel-Gaza War Updates
Variety and Tech
Sports News
Middle East News
World News
Lebanon News
Press Highlights
Lebanon Economy
News Bulletin Reports
Other News
Breaking Headlines
Israel-Gaza War Updates
Variety and Tech
Sports News
Middle East News
World News
Lebanon News
Press Highlights
Lebanon Economy
News Bulletin Reports
Beirut
29
o
Mount Lebanon
33
o
Metn
31
o
Keserwan
31
o
North
33
o
South
32
o
Bekaa
30
o
Live
Video
Audio
Schedule
shows
العربية
watching now
Video Clips
SUBSCRIBE
Home
Notification
Live
Video
Audio
shows
Beirut
29
o
Mount Lebanon
33
o
Metn
31
o
Keserwan
31
o
North
33
o
South
32
o
Bekaa
30
o
News
Programs
The News
Breaking Headlines
Israel-Gaza War Updates
Variety and Tech
Sports News
Middle East News
World News
Lebanon News
Press Highlights
Lebanon Economy
News Bulletin Reports
Programs
Documentaries
Lebanon’s Centennial
News Bulletin
The Untold History
Talk Show
Series
Sports
Variety
Other
Comedy
Oldies
Breaking News
Latest News
Highlighted News
Most Read
Videos
العربية
Watch the latest programs and the latest developments on your favorite screen
Shows
Join millions of followers
Who We Are
Contact Us
Advertise With Us
Careers
Channel frequencies
Privacy Policy
Terms and Conditions
REPORT: Iraq launches offensive on Hawija, an Islamic State-held region near oil city Kirkuk
Author:
Rita Khoury
Breaking Headlines
2017-09-21 | 09:33
High views
Share
Share
REPORT: Iraq launches offensive on Hawija, an Islamic State-held region near oil city Kirkuk
4
min
REPORT: Iraq launches offensive on Hawija, an Islamic State-held region near oil city Kirkuk
Iraq launched an offensive on Thursday to dislodge Islamic State from Hawija, west of the oil city of Kirkuk and one of two areas of the country still under the control of the militants.
The Iraqi Joint Operations Command said the offensive to capture Hawija in northern Iraq "will be swift," state TV reported.
The action, announced by Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, took place four days before a referendum on Kurdish independence due to be held in northern Iraq, including Kirkuk.
Abadi says Monday's referendum is against the constitution and has called on the autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government to cancel it. The United States on Wednesday issued a statement against the independence vote, calling it a distraction in the war on Islamic State.
Kirkuk is shaping up as a flashpoint ahead of the independence vote as it is also home to Arab and Turkmen communities who oppose breaking away from Iraq.
Kurdish Peshmerga forces took control of Kirkuk after the Iraqi army collapsed in the face of Islamic State offensive in 2014, preventing the militants from capturing the oil fields.
A U.S.-led international coalition is providing air support to the Iraqi forces' offensive on Hawija, state TV said.
The Iraqi forces, deployed north and west of Hawija district, are pushing southward along the Tigris River and had cleared the first lines of defense by midday, state TV said.
A total of 11 villages were captured from Islamic State, said the operation's commander, Lieutenant General Abdul Ameer Yarallah, cited by the TV channel.
"We finished the first chapter of the liberation operation," in Hawija, he said, without indicating the timing of the second chapter.
The United Nations last week said up to 85,000 people could be displaced from the Hawija region. Up to 30,000 children are in extreme danger, Save the Children said on Thursday.
"They have already suffered horribly under ISIS rule...food, water and medicine are running out, with many children reportedly weak and malnourished," the organization said.
"It is imperative that all Iraqi and coalition forces open up safe escape routes for people and allow civilians to flee to wherever is safest," it added.
The offensive on Hawija should not affect the Kurdish plan to hold the referendum in Kirkuk on Monday, a Kurdish official told Reuters.
The Peshmerga hold the front lines with the Hawija district from the eastern side, near Kirkuk, but are not taking part in the offensive, he said.
Hawija, north of Baghdad, and a stretch of land along the Syrian border, west of the Iraqi capital, are the last pieces of the country still in the hands of Islamic State. The group overran about a third of Iraq in 2014.
Islamic State's self-declared caliphate effectively collapsed in July, when U.S.-backed Iraqi forces captured Mosul, the group's de facto capital in Iraq, after a grueling
nine-month battle. Kurdish Peshmerga fighters took part in operations against the militants.
Islamic State also controls territory in Syria, along the Iraqi border but it is shrinking fast in the face of a U.S.-backed Kurdish-led coalition and Russian and Iranian-backed forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
REUTERS
To watch the full report, please click on the video above.
Breaking Headlines
Iraq
Islamic State
Kirkuk
Next
Grand Mufti Derian travels to Saudi Arabia for Hajj
Recommended For You
d-none hideMe
0
Lebanon News
16:03
Hezbollah announces launching 'dozens of rockets' at Israel in response to civilian deaths
Lebanon News
16:03
Hezbollah announces launching 'dozens of rockets' at Israel in response to civilian deaths
0
Lebanon News
2024-04-21
Breaking: Israeli airstrike hits Naqoura, reports NNA
Lebanon News
2024-04-21
Breaking: Israeli airstrike hits Naqoura, reports NNA
0
Lebanon News
2024-04-21
Shelling from Lebanon hits Western Galilee: Israeli Channel 12 reports
Lebanon News
2024-04-21
Shelling from Lebanon hits Western Galilee: Israeli Channel 12 reports
0
Lebanon News
2024-04-17
Israeli warplanes strike agricultural land near Baalbek: Three missiles launched
Lebanon News
2024-04-17
Israeli warplanes strike agricultural land near Baalbek: Three missiles launched
Subscribe to our VOD
SUBSCRIBE
Our visitors readings
d-none hideMe
0
Lebanon News
2024-01-02
NNA: Israeli drone targets Hamas office in southern suburbs of Beirut, resulting in 4 casualties
Lebanon News
2024-01-02
NNA: Israeli drone targets Hamas office in southern suburbs of Beirut, resulting in 4 casualties
0
Middle East News
2023-11-24
UN says 137 aid trucks unloaded in Gaza since ceasefire started
Middle East News
2023-11-24
UN says 137 aid trucks unloaded in Gaza since ceasefire started
0
World News
2024-04-20
Russian war correspondent killed by Ukrainian drone
World News
2024-04-20
Russian war correspondent killed by Ukrainian drone
0
Lebanon News
2023-10-09
Minor injury to Lebanese Army officer in Israeli shelling
Lebanon News
2023-10-09
Minor injury to Lebanese Army officer in Israeli shelling
Videos
d-none hideMe
0
Lebanon News
2023-12-11
Breaking: Israel launches raid north of Litani on Monday (Video)
Lebanon News
2023-12-11
Breaking: Israel launches raid north of Litani on Monday (Video)
0
Lebanon News
2023-11-02
Exclusive to LBCI: U.S. State Department's Wooster Stresses Lebanon Must Avoid War, Sees Renewed Push for Two-State Solution
Lebanon News
2023-11-02
Exclusive to LBCI: U.S. State Department's Wooster Stresses Lebanon Must Avoid War, Sees Renewed Push for Two-State Solution
0
Lebanon News
2023-10-18
Protests Erupt near US Embassy in Awkar Against Israeli Attacks on Al-Maamadani Hospital in Gaza
Lebanon News
2023-10-18
Protests Erupt near US Embassy in Awkar Against Israeli Attacks on Al-Maamadani Hospital in Gaza
0
Lebanon News
2023-10-05
ATFL's Ambassador Edward Gabriel on Navigating Through Economic, Political, and Refugee Crises
Lebanon News
2023-10-05
ATFL's Ambassador Edward Gabriel on Navigating Through Economic, Political, and Refugee Crises
0
Sports News
2023-08-31
Amir Saoud Powers Lebanon to Victory Over Cote d'Ivoire: A Deep Dive Into The Numbers
Sports News
2023-08-31
Amir Saoud Powers Lebanon to Victory Over Cote d'Ivoire: A Deep Dive Into The Numbers
0
Sports News
2023-08-29
France Edges Past Lebanon in a Nail-Biter at FIBA World Cup 2023: A Statistical Deep Dive
Sports News
2023-08-29
France Edges Past Lebanon in a Nail-Biter at FIBA World Cup 2023: A Statistical Deep Dive
0
Lebanon News
2019-02-28
Pierre el-Daher, the man who defeated the Lebanese Forces
Lebanon News
2019-02-28
Pierre el-Daher, the man who defeated the Lebanese Forces
Most read
d-none hideMe
24 hours
7 days
Month
1
News Bulletin Reports
12:53
US lawsuit raises stakes for Lebanon's financial institutions
News Bulletin Reports
12:53
US lawsuit raises stakes for Lebanon's financial institutions
2
Lebanon News
16:03
Hezbollah announces launching 'dozens of rockets' at Israel in response to civilian deaths
Lebanon News
16:03
Hezbollah announces launching 'dozens of rockets' at Israel in response to civilian deaths
3
Lebanon News
09:09
Beirut's air pollution crisis: Diesel generators linked to doubling cancer risk, study shows
Lebanon News
09:09
Beirut's air pollution crisis: Diesel generators linked to doubling cancer risk, study shows
4
Variety and Tech
14:17
Yasmina Zaytoun's MBC debut on 'Sabah El Kheir Ya Arab': A catalyst for redefining beauty pageants in the Arab world
Variety and Tech
14:17
Yasmina Zaytoun's MBC debut on 'Sabah El Kheir Ya Arab': A catalyst for redefining beauty pageants in the Arab world
5
Lebanon News
03:39
MEA cancels flight amidst strike at Paris CDG airport
Lebanon News
03:39
MEA cancels flight amidst strike at Paris CDG airport
6
Lebanon News
07:56
Israeli airstrikes kill two Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon
Lebanon News
07:56
Israeli airstrikes kill two Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon
7
Lebanon News
07:49
Hezbollah retaliates: Shelling two military positions in northern Israel
Lebanon News
07:49
Hezbollah retaliates: Shelling two military positions in northern Israel
8
Lebanon News
02:07
Israeli army targets potential 'threats' in southern Lebanon, strikes Hezbollah's infrastructure
Lebanon News
02:07
Israeli army targets potential 'threats' in southern Lebanon, strikes Hezbollah's infrastructure
Download now the LBCI mobile app
To see the latest news, the latest daily programs in Lebanon and the world
Google Play
App Store
We use
cookies
We use
cookies
to make
your experience on this
website better.
Accept
Learn More