MAKHMOUR — Regiment 91 of the brigade 15 of the Iraqi army, consisting of Kurdish soldiers from Erbil, managed to recapture four villages in the west of Makhmour district in northern Iraq.

A source from the regiment 91 told BasNews that a unit of the Iraqi army consisting of Shi'ite and Sunni soldiers carried out an unsuccessful operation to liberate some villages near Makhmour, leaving 35 corpses of soldiers behind on the battlefield on Friday, March 25.

The source said that the Kurdish soldiers of the regiment 91 later managed to reclaim control of Karmzi, Kudila, Khataba and Sarbardan villages in the west of Makhmour in an operation on Saturday, March 26.

Iraqi army’s brigade 15, heavily equipped with developed arms, has been settled on the Makhmour frontline in order to participate in the anticipated assault of Mosul liberation.

The Iraqi army has recently declared the start of the Mosul operation but the forces are apparently pushing toward the major city very slowly. However, several villages, in the south of Mosul, have so far been reported as liberated from the Islamic State (IS) jihadists.