Iraqi forces recapture south of Mosul from IS

Iraqi forces on Thursday regained control over Imam Gharbi, a village south of Mosul, from Islamic State militants who had seized it as their defense of their stronghold in the city crumbled, Iraqi police said.

The action formed part of the next phase of the U.S.-backed government's campaign to drive Islamic State from Iraq and dismantle their self-proclaimed caliphate.

Police Colonel Kareem Aboud said government forces took full control of Imam Gharbi at dawn. They discovered the bodies of two Iraqi journalists who were killed there shortly after the militants attacked, he said.

Troops were now searching the village for remaining militants. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared victory over Islamic State in Mosul on July 10 after a nine-month battle, marking the biggest defeat for the hardline Sunni Muslim group since its lightning sweep through northern Iraq three years ago.

-Reuters, Tikrit