Kurds to offer seized territory to recapture Mosul from ISIS

London: In a renewed push for independence from Baghdad, Iraqi Kurdish leaders are likely to offer territory seized by their forces in a bid to recapture Mosul from ISIS terrorists.

According to the Guardian, the Trump administration might be willing to support the Kurdish leaders as Kurdish President Masoud Barzani has had discussions with US vice-president Mike Pence on the same.

This came days after the Iraqi security forces recaptured the Mosul airport from ISIS, a key part of the government`s offensive to drive the Islamic State (IS) from the western half of the city.

The operation took four hours, as the IS continued to fire mortars at the airport from further inside the city after losing the ground to the army.

Among Iraqi towns the Kurdish forces have so far re-captured are Bashiqa, and scores of villages and thousands of square miles of territory including much of Kirkuk province, northern Diyala and Sinja provinces.

Reportedly, the Kurds have increased the land mass under their control up to 40 percent.