Iraqi forces liberated four villages in southeastern Mosul as part of the long-awaited Mosul liberation operation that was launched early Monday.

Commander of Federal Police Shaker Gawdat said a number of booby-trapped cars owned by Daesh were destroyed while liberating the villages.

Local sources said fighter jets of Iraqi forces and the US-led coalition bombed more than 40 Daesh positions and training camps in Mosul that has been held by the

since 2014.

The sources added that Daesh militants were seen shaving their beard and taking off their Afghan military uniform after the collapse of their defense lines.

Iraqi government forces, with air and ground support from the U.S.-led coalition, launched an offensive early Monday to drive Daesh out from the city of Mosul, the militants' last major stronghold in the country with the participation of Peshmerga and tribal fighters.

The operation began hours after Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced in a brief speech aired on state television the campaign to liberate Mosul had begun.

“The Iraqi flag will be raised in the middle of Mosul, and in each village and corner very soon,” Abadi said, dressed in a military uniform and surrounded by officers.

The assault on the northern city was the biggest operation mounted by the Iraqi military since U.S. forces withdrew in 2011.

Source: MENA