Ahead of Mosul fight, Iraqi forces mass on Hawija
Upcoming offensive could push IS out of Kirkuk province, further squeezing Mosul and reducing threats to northern oil infrastructure.
Iraqi security forces arrest suspected militants of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) during a raid and weapons search operation in Hawija April 24, 2014. (YAHYA AHMAD/Reuters)
KIRKUK - Thousands of Iraqi security forces are preparing an imminent offensive to clear the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) militant group from its stronghold in the Hawija district of Kirkuk province - an operation that carries important implications for a widely anticipated push to liberate Mosul.
Recapturing Hawija would help to further isolate IS militants in Mosul, 120 kilometers to the north. The operation will also test whether a motley array of pro-government forces can garrison a Sunni town while avoiding the internecine fighting, looting, and sectarian reprisals that have occurred in many other liberated areas.
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