Obama and Abadi Discuss Mosul Recapture

As Iraqi forces advance towards the city of Mosul, U.S. President Barack Obama is set to meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Monday, September 29, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly to discuss Mosul among other topics. According to Agence France-Presse, Ben Rhodes, senior advisor to the U.S. President, stated that the two leaders will talk about the coalition against the Islamic State (ISIS) and the operation to liberate Mosul. The Islamic State (ISIS) unexpectedly seized Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city, in the summer of 2014. However, in recent months, the Iraqi army and Kurdish Peshmerga forces, trained by the U.S.-led coalition, have been advancing towards Mosul and preparing for the final operation to liberate the city. CNN reported that evidence suggests the final operation to liberate Mosul could begin next month. Hundreds of U.S. special forces have also arrived at an airbase 65 kilometers south of Mosul to assist Iraqi forces in this operation. The U.S. Air Force also bombed several ISIS positions around Mosul on Friday to clear the way for Iraqi forces to advance towards the city. The U.S. Department of Defense (Pentagon) announced last week that in an airstrike on a factory near Mosul, it destroyed an ISIS chemical weapons workshop. U.S. Army Lieutenant General Jeffrey Harrigian told reporters at the Pentagon on Thursday that when the Iraqi army is ready to begin the Mosul operation, 'we will also be ready to support them and our flight operations will be prepared.' He added that coalition forces are currently conducting reconnaissance and intelligence operations in the region.