TEHRAN (FNA)- Military campaign by the Iraqi army, popular forces, as well as Kurdish Peshmerga forces to liberate the city of Mosul continued on Monday, with Iraqi Volunteer Forces' War Media Center reporting over 770 ISIL terrorists have been killed in the first week of the operation.

Hashd Al-Shaabi: 772 ISIL Terrorists Killed in Mosul Battle in 7 Days


Iraqi Volunteer Forces (Hashd al-Sha'abi) War Media Center announced in a statement that over 770 ISIL terrorists have been killed in the first week of the Mosul liberation operation.


"A sum of 772 ISIL terrorists have been killed in the Mosul Liberation Operation and 23 others have also been captured by Sunday night," the center said.


It also announced that 127 bomb-laden vehicles and 27 mortar-launchers have also been destroyed, while "397 mines have been defused".


Key Town Northeast of Iraq's Mosul Liberated


Iraq's Peshmerga forces retook complete control of Bashiqa town, 13 km Northeast of Mosul, a local official said.


�The Peshmerga forces have completely controlled Bashiqa town and have continued their march toward Mosul,� said Halgurd Hikmat, the media director for the Peshmerga, Rudaw reported.


Asked whether there are still any ISIL militants inside the town, or whether or not the Peshmerga have entered the town, he declined to comment, but added that this time, the Peshmerga were using a �different tactic.� He did not give further details.


ISIL Executes Own Militants for Fleeing from Mosul
ISIL terror group executed at least seven of its own militants, after their reported desertion and fleeing the battle fronts near Mosul to Syria.


Eyewitnesses said that the executed militants fled from the battles raging in Iraq�s Northern Nineveh Province and the ISIL announced their charge as "high treason".


�Those fighters had left their posts in Mosul city without permission, heading to the Syrian border,� media activist Abdullah al-Malla told ARA News.


The militants were arrested by their comrades in ISIL's proclaimed police also known as Diwan al-Hisba, shortly after they crossed into Syria�s Eastern Deir Ezzur province.


Dozen of ISIL Terrorists Killed by Iraqi Popular Forces South of Mosul


The Popular Mobilization Forces announced that its forces have killed at least 13 terrorists and destroyed 10 vehicles carrying machineguns in addition to the dismantling of 7 car bombs during the operations in the vicinity of Hamam al-Alil area south of Mosul.


�The popular mobilization units have shelled ISIS defenses in the villages of Hamam al-Alil and Ghazlani as the shelling resulted in the killing of 13 terrorists and the destruction of 10 vehicles carrying machineguns in addition to the dismantling of 7 car bombs,� a senior commander in the popular mobilization Forces, Jabbar al-Mamouri said, Badr News reported.


Kurdish Peshmerga Forces Reject Alleged Request Help from Turkey


A senior Kurdish commander rejected the claims by Ankara officials that the Peshmerga forces have requested help from Turkey for the fight against the ISIL terrorist group in Northern Iraq.


"Contrary to the Turkish government's claims, Peshmerga forces have never demanded the Turkish army to target the ISIL in Baishqa region in Nineveh province," the Arabic-language media quoted Senior Peshmerga Commander Qias al-Sourchi as saying on Monday.


He went on to say that the Turkish army's artillery fired 10 artillery shells, but opposite to the Turkish officials' allegations they didn't claim any casualty among the ISIL terrorists.


Official: Iraqi Security Forces 5km Away from Mosul


A local official in Northern Iraq announced that the Iraqi forces are five kilometers away from the city of Mosul, saying that there are signs of an uprising against the ISIL terrorists in the city.


�Iraqi forces are within the distance of five kilometers to Mosul� and as the number of ISIL militants are estimated between four thousand and eight thousand in the city of Mosul, then, they will show fierce resistance due to the symbolic importance of the city,� Interior Minister of Iraq's Kurdistan region, Karim Sinjari said in a press statement, Iraqi News reported.


Official: ISIL Terrorists Backed by US in Kirkuk Offensive


Head of the security committee of Kirkuk Provincial Council Ali Musa Yadekar disclosed that the US helped the ISIL terrorists in launching attacks against Kirkuk on Friday.


The US planes transferred the ISIL terrorists from Hawijah to Leilan and Daqouq which are mountainous regions empty of security forces in Southern Kirkuk, Yadekar was quoted as saying by the Arabic website of Sputnik news agency on Monday.


Peshmerga Forces: Goals of Anti-ISIL Operation Northeast of Mosul Accomplished


The General Command of Iraq's Peshmerga Forces said that the units had accomplished their goals of the military operation conducted Northeast of the Iraqi city of Mosul.


"Peshmerga Forces have already achieved their primary objective in a large-scale operation near Bashiqa, North East of Mosul, to cordon off eight villages in an area measuring approximately 100 square kilometers," the Command said in a statement issued on its Twitter page, Sputnik reported.


"The achievement which was realized ahead of planned time, positions Peshmerga forces less than 9 km, about 6 miles, from the outskirts of Mosul,� the Command said.


Iraqi Special Units Reach Northern Outskirts of Mosul


Iraqi Army's special counterterrorist forces reached Northern outskirts of the city of Mosul, a military source said.


�Special counterterrorist units are now on the outskirts Mosul, and reached the Qawsyat region just North of the city that is the first district that belongs to the Northern part of Mosul,� the source said, Sputnik reported.


On October 17, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi announced the start of a military operation to retake Mosul from the ISIL terror group.


According to local media, about 30,000 Iraqi soldiers and 4,000 Kurdish Peshmerga fighters are taking part in the operation, backed by airstrikes carried out by the US-led coalition.


By Fars News Agency