The Iraqi army launches an operation to liberate Mosul which has long served as the main seat of Daesh in the country, a US official says.

Brett McGurk, US President Barack Obama’s special envoy to the US-led coalition, announced the launch of the operation on Saturday, the al-Forat television reported.

The offensive started by cutting the main road connecting Mosul to the Syrian city of Raqqah where Daesh is based, McGurk said, describing the operation as complicated.

The participation of US troops in the ground offensive will be possible only upon the request of Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, he added.

The northern and western parts of Iraq have been plagued by violence ever since Daesh mounted an offensive in the country in June 2014.

Mosul fell into the Daesh control early in the earliest days of the invasion. The Iraqi army has been fighting to liberate Daesh-held regions with the help of volunteer forces.

They have managed to retake some key towns and villages, including Tikrit and Baiji in Salahuddin Province and the city of Ramadi, the capital of the western province of Anbar.

By Press TV