PUK Mosul Representative Xeyas Surçi stated that preparations for the Mosul operation have reached the final stage and that the forces to partake in the operation are waiting for an instruction to start the offensive now.

Surçi said intense military dispatching has been made during the past few days to all the fronts where the operation will be started, and highlighted that he believed HPG (People's Defense Forces) and YBŞ (Shengal Resistance Units) will play a major role in the event of partaking in the Mosul operation.

Surçi described the US deployment of heavy weaponry and soldiers on Mount Bashiq as an effort to prevent the Turkish troops from entering Mosul.

"INSTRUCTION WAITED FOR THE OPERATION"

As discussions continue over the start date of the Mosul operation, it remains the major subject of dispute which forces will participate in the operation.

PUK (Patriotic Union of Kurdistan) Mosul Representative Xeyas Surçi spoke to ANF on the matter and stated the following:

"During the past months, the Iraqi army and peshmerga forces have liberated several districts and boroughs from ISIS gangs. These operations were developed as part of the liberation of Mosul. An agreement in this regard had been signed previously between the coalition forces, Iraqi army and peshmerga forces. Within the framework of this agreement peshmerga forces and the Iraqi army will join the Mosul operation in all fronts.

Military dispatching to Xazır area and around the Mosul Dam, as well as many other fronts such as the western side of Mosul and Tal Afar, continues already over the past a few days. The forces to partake in the operation are waiting for an instruction to start the offensive now.”

"ISIS WILL BE DEFEATED IN MOSUL"

Answering the question if ISIS has the capacity to resist the Mosul operation, Surçi underlined that: ."ISIS will try resisting but it will definitely lose.

ISIS groups also must be preparing for the operation for sure, and they will fight against the operational forces. We know that ISIS had a military force of 10 thousand militants at first, but they have suffered huge losses during the battle that has been waged up to date. Still, they will resist in Mosul but they will be defeated for sure."

Surçi noted that US has deployed heavy weaponry and soldiers on Mount Bashiq, saying that this was because the US wanted to obstruct the activation of Turkish troops as the Mount Bashiq was a very strategic point in the region in this aspect.

"GUERRILLAS ARE THE MOST EFFECTIVE FORCE IN THE REGION"

Surçi stated that it has not been decided yet whether HPG, YBŞ and Hashd Al-Shaabi forces will partake in the Mosul operation, underlining that HPG will play a major role in the event of partaking in the operation as guerrillas are waging the most effective battle in the Middle East.

Surçi noted that the military forces that have been deployed in the fronts for the Mosul operation so far do not include Hashd Al-Shaabi forces, and that all the readied forces are those affiliated to the Iraqi army.

PUK Representative remarked that they were in close contact with HPG and YBŞ, both of which stated continuously that they were ready for participation in the operation when required.

Surçi continued: “HPG forces have achieved a major success in all the areas they have fought so far, including in Shengal and Rabia. They have also gained significant experiences in the war in urban areas. In my opinion, they will play an important role in the event of joining the Mosul battle because there is no force that has trained themselves and yielded results as much as the HPG did. From this point, they would play a major role in Mosul operation but this requires an agreement with the Iraqi government and coalition forces.”