U.S.-backed Iraqi forces cleared ISIS militants from a key village and marched on the airport in Mosul, the Iraqi army said on Monday.

The seizure was made less than 48 hours after the operation began to bring Western Mosul, the last major stronghold of ISIL in the country. Iraqi Federal police and rapid deployment forces "took complete control" villages "Alba Saif", said General Abdul Amir Yar Allah. The village has a strategic importance at the point near the airport, according to CNN. "We have been told that ISIS sabotaged the runway to prevent its use".

The operation to capture Western Mosul began on Sunday morning, after Iraqi forces recaptured the Eastern half of the city, which is divided by the river "Tiger". On the first day of a new offensive by the Iraqi forces, the Federal police said they killed 79 ISIL fighters, destroyed weapons and regained control of 10 villages.

The offensive is expected to come from the South and West of the city. Iraqi forces will not be able to move West across the river because all five bridges connecting the two halves of Mosul was destroyed by ISIS last month. The Prime Minister of Iraq Haider al-Abadi described the operation to liberate Mosul as "a new dawn".
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