Returning home: Civilians return to their village after it was liberated from Islamic State militants, south of Mosul in Qayyara, Iraq, on Saturday. The Army’s 9th division enters Hamdaniyah, a town 20 km from Mosul; raises national flagIraqi forces pushed into a town near the Islamic State (IS)-held city of Mosul on Saturday after a wave of militant attacks in and around the northern city of Kirkuk set off more than 24 hours of heavy clashes. The town is around 20 km from Mosul. Iraqi forces retook the town of Bartella, around 15 km east of Mosul, earlier this week, but are still facing pockets of resistance in the area. The Qayyara West airfield is the main U.S. hub to support Iraqi-led operations to retake the city of Mosul from IS.

Source: The Hindu October 22, 2016 17:48 UTC