Iraqi forces on Sunday advanced towards Qayyarah, which lies south of the ISIL group’s main stronghold of Mosul, aiming to liberate the villages that lie east of Qayyarah.

Iraqi forces on Sunday advanced towards Qayyarah, which lies south of the ISIL group's main stronghold of Mosul, aiming to liberate the villages that lie east of Qayyarah.

The operation involves joint Iraqi forces, including Kurdish peshmerga, as well as a US Marine artillery post based outside Makhmur.

Qayyarah, which has an air field, lies to the west, on the other side of the Tigris river, but is still about 60 kilometers (35 miles) south of Mosul.

Nineveh operations command said the offensive saw Iraqi forces close in on Hajj Ali, a village on the banks of the Tigris that is the last key ISIL position before Qayyarah.

The Iraqi forces said they were supported by air strikes from the US-led coalition.

The fresh operation comes as Iraqi forces are advancing in Fallujah province as they have controlled the southern neighborhood of Shuhada.

A statement, issued by the Popular Mobilization Forces, mentioned that ISIL has set the age of 10 for the kids to be recruited in its ranks due to its huge losses after it used to resort to those who are 14 and above .

The statement added that ISIL is forcefully recruiting at least one of each family's members in Fallujah in order to fight the Iraqi forces.

Media reports also noted that ISIL executed 19 of its terrorists because they fled the battlefield in Fallujah.

On the other hand, the Iraqi defense minister Khaled Obeidi asserted that Fallujah campaign is few days away from announcing the complete victory, noting that what delays that the end of the battle is that ISIL terrorists are taking the civilians as human shields.