BAGHDAD -- The Iraqi Army's 9th Armored Division, backed by the Federal Police and Nineveh Plains Protection Units (Assyrian paramilitary), liberated 9 villages near the strategic city of Mosul on Monday. According to the Iraqi Army's official media wing, their forces liberated the villages of Al-Shuweirat, Tal Al-Shiouk, Taloul Al-Nasr, Al-Bakr, Al-Raseef, Safiyeh, Suff Al-Tout, Tawaybeh, and Hararah after a fierce battle with the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS). In addition to the Iraqi Army's advance, the Kurdish Peshmerga forces are making significant progress near the key town of Bashiqa, killing several members of the Islamic State in the process.