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AMMAN, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- Jordan said Monday the liberation of Iraq's Mosul from the Islamic State (IS) is decisive to defeat the terrorist group, the state-run Petra news agency reported.
Jordan's Minister of State for Media Affairs Mohammad Momani said defeating the group in Iraq will help uproot its forces in the area, and will rid the Iraqis from sufferings under the IS control.
Iraqi security forces on Monday recaptured nine villages from IS militants as part of a major offensive aimed at liberating Mosul, the last major IS stronghold in Iraq, security sources said.
The Iraqi army, Peshmerga forces and allied paramilitary Sunni and Shiite Hashd Shaabi units have been advancing gradually from four directions after Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced the launch of the long-awaited offensive to free Mosul from IS militants, the source said.
Mosul, some 400 km north of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, has been under IS control since June 2014.
