Iraqi forces seized the Qayara air base south of Mosul in July, in what U.S. and Iraqi officials said was a major step toward the eventual liberation of the country's second largest city, which fell to IS in 2014. Originally built in 1979, the facility was renamed Saddam Base after it was rehabilitated by the former Iraqi dictator. IS captured the base in the summer of 2014, when it swept across much of northern and western Iraq and drove panicking Iraqi troops out of Mosul. The coalition hopes to transform the base into a logistics center ahead of the Mosul operation. Across northern and western Iraq, engineering teams are busy rebuilding downed bridges and carefully removing thousands of roadside bombs and other booby-traps.

Source: ABC News August 30, 2016 16:07 UTC