BAGHDAD — A senior leader with a government-sanctioned militia in Iraq said his troops have captured a key town west of the city of Mosul from the Islamic State.

Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. deputy head of Popular Mobilization Forces, said the troops entered the center of the strategic town of Baaj on Sunday morning.

Muhandis said the advance is a significant achievement in the US-backed operation to retake Mosul, which was launched in October. The town, near the Syrian border, is considered one of the important supply lines for ISIS through Syria.

The Iran-backed PMF — an umbrella group of mostly Shi’ite militias also known as Hashed al-Shaabi in Arabic — has largely operated since October west of Mosul, trying to cut ISIS supply lines.

Islamic State militants are steadily losing territory to US-backed Iraqi forces in the battle for Mosul, the country’s second-largest city. The Sunni extremists are increasingly turning to insurgency-style terror attacks to distract attention from their losses.

Iraqi troops are pushing ISIS fighters out of their last strongholds. Iraqi commanders say the offensive, which recently entered its eight month, will mark the end of the Islamic State caliphate in Iraq, but concede the group will likely increase insurgent attacks in the wake of military defeats.

Associated Press