Iraq forces retake important Hawija town from IS fighters

BAGHDAD, Oct 05 (Agencies): Iraq's prime minister says its military has retaken Hawija, the main town in one of the last two enclaves of so-called Islamic State in the country.

Haider al-Abadi told reporters that Hawija had been "liberated" as part of an operation launched two weeks ago.

Only areas on the town's outskirts remained to be recaptured, he added.

Once they fall, IS will be left with only a stretch of the Euphrates river valley around al-Qaim, in the western desert near the border with Syria.

The jihadist group still controls large parts of the valley in the neighbouring Syrian province of Deir al-Zour, but it is under pressure there from Syrian pro-government forces and a US-backed alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters.

The offensive on Hawija district, about 215km (135 miles) north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, began on 21 September and has involved army, federal police and special forces units, as well as the Shia-led paramilitary Popular Mobilisation force.

With the help of US-led coalition air strikes and military advisers, they recaptured the town of Shirqat on the second day and then moved steadily south-eastwards.

On Wednesday, the operation's commander Lt Gen Abdul Amir Yarallah announced that troops had begun a major operation to "liberate" Hawija itself.

They quickly breached jihadist defences in the north-western outskirts and stormed the town centre as night fell.

By early Thursday morning, they had cleared the local government headquarters and hospital, according to federal police chief Gen Raed Jawdat.

The United Nations expressed concern earlier this week over the fate of an estimated 78,000 civilians trapped in IS-held areas of Hawija district.

Meanwhile, the Kurdish Regional Government has announced new parliamentary and presidential elections on the first of November.

According to the Iraqi Kurdish region's Higher Election Commission, political parties have already registered their names for parliamentary elections, with the election campaign due to start on October 15.

However, officials are in contention about whether the elections will be actually held at the announced date.

Sadi Pire, a senior official and member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan politburo, told Al Jazeera that it is likely the parliamentary elections will be held next year.

"It is possible that the current government's mandate will be extended for another year," Pire said.

He cited the chaotic conditions present in the semi-autonomous region in northern Iraq.

"We have more than 400,000 people that need to be repatriated after the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant group occupied their villages, in addition to 1.2 million Syrian refugees and IDP from south of Iraq," Pire said. "It is very difficult now to have a clean election under these elections."