By KUNA,
Irbil : A wide military operation has begun Saturday against Al-Qaeda in Mosul, northern Iraq’s largest city, an Iraqi military chief announced.
Head of Nineveh operations Lieutenant General Riyadh Tawfeeq said in a press conference that a large number of military forces arrived to the city Friday evening, adding that more forces will be reaching Mosul.
He also said that senior official arrived in the city including the Interior Undersecretary, Defense Undersecretary, and Interior Ministry Spokesman Abdulkareem Khalaf.
He did not reveal from which city the operation began.
The Iraqi government announced early 2008 that it planned to launch a wide military operation against Al-Qaeda in Mosul and sent thousands of Iraqi and Multi-National Forces soldiers, in addition to tanks and armored vehicles, to the city.
Mosul Governor Dareed Kashmola had demanded taking immediate procedures to stop the decline of security in the city.
He demanded the government to call citizens to store food before the operation starts to avoid humanitarian crises such as those that occurred in Basra and Sadr cities.
Explosions and assassinations increased in Mosul in the past weeks.