The Iraqi army announced on Saturday, July 9 the recapture of the old Gayara air base near the Tigris River in an offensive that aims to inch closer to the Islamic State’s (ISIS) stronghold of Mosul, said the governor of Nineveh, According to Rudaw.

“Today, at 10 am Iraqi forces launched an attack on Gayara military airport and managed to control it,” Nofel Hamadi, Nineveh Governor told Rudaw Saturday.

“IS did not fight back and they escaped to Mosul,” Hamadi added.

Gayara is a former Iraqi army air base that has been used by IS militants as a bomb-making center, according to military officials.

The army says, according to Rudaw, that Gayara brings them closer to Mosul that has been under ISIS control for two years.

Previously known as the Saddam Airbase, Gayara played a crucial role during the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s.

Iraqi troops have recaptured close to 10 villages in the Nineveh plains in recent weeks as part of their drive towards Mosul.