Iraq's PM Launches Operation to Free Mosul from IS

The long-awaited operation to free Iraq's second city, Mosul, from the Islamic State (IS) extremist organization has begun, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi says.

"Dear people of Iraq, beloved people of Nineveh province, the hour of victory has come and operations to liberate Mosul have begun," DPA quotes Al-Abadi as saying in a televised address.

Mosul, located in Nineveh, is the largest city controlled by the Sunni extremist group, with a population of over 2 million before the conflict.

The battle is expected to be a turning point in Iraq's fight against Islamic State, which al-Abadi has vowed will be driven out of the country this year.

US Secretary of Defence Ashton Carter said the campaign would be a "decisive moment," and pledged US support for Iraq.

Al-Abadi, addressing much of his short speech to the residents of Mosul, a majority Sunni city whose citizens of other religions have fled the jihadists, sought to strike a reassuring note.

"Very soon, we will be among you to raise the Iraqi flag ... we have come to rescue you and save you from terror," he said.

He assured the citizens of Mosul that only the regular army and police would enter the city, implicitly guaranteeing that the controversial Shiite militias who have played a key role in other government offensives will stay out.

"Soon, God willing, we will meet on Mosul's soil to celebrate its liberation and your salvation together, and we will once again live together - all our religions and all our sects - in equality, loving each other and cooperating with each other," al-Abadi promised.

Hours before announcing the offensive, al-Abadi met the head of the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR to review plans for receiving...