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Mosul Offensive News
 Iraqi forces capture 2 more Mosul districts Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi security forces recaptured on Saturday two of a handful of remaining districts in Islamic State grip in northeastern Mosul, becoming so close to announcing a total liberation of the eastern section of the city from the group. Lt. Gen. Abdul-Amir Yarallah, commander of the Joint Operations Command in Nineveh, said the troops recaptured al-Arabi district and al-Qawsiyat village, and became closer to al-Rashidiya, another neighborhood. Meanwhile, a local source in Nineveh told Alsumaria News that the bodies of seven Islamic State militants were found floating above the Tigris River. He said the dead fighters were swimming across the river over the past few days to escape battles with government forces in the east to the western bank, where the extremist group still predominates. He said the group was still searching for other missing corpses. Earlier on Thursday, a spokesperson of the US-led coalition against IS, John Dorrian, said aerial bombardment destroyed 90 boats used by the militants to cross from the east to the west of the city. Iraqi forces, backed by popular militias and US-led international advisers and troops, have entered a third month of operations to retake Mosul, the last outstanding IS stronghold in Iraq which fell to the group in 2014. On Wednesday, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said the basic military plan for Mosul’s liberation had been completed “in most combat axes” with the recapture of central Mosul, adding that operations continue to liberate “a few other regions” in the north of the city. Commanders from the Iraqi army’s elite Counter-Terrorism Forces said in a press conference on the same day they had retaken all districts assigned to them in eastern Mosul, killing 3300 militants since operations launched. After getting finished with eastern Mosul, Iraqi generals plan to advance to the western region of the city beyond the Tigris River, where Islamic State still predominates a majority of territory. Airstrikes hit 90 ISIS boats Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) The US-led international coalition announced on Saturday destructing 90 boats and three ships belonging to the Islamic State group in eastern Mosul. The spokesman for the Joint Task Force, Colonel John Dorian said in a press statement, “We thought terminating the members and leaders of the Islamic State is hard.” “These boats were used to transport the Islamic State’s members from eastern Mosul to its Western side, to flee from Iraqi security forces,” Dorian added. Nineveh Province is witnessing wide-scale military operations to retake the city of Mosul from the Islamic State’s grip that captured the city in June 2014. Iraqi airstrikes hit western Mosul Nineveh (Iraqi News) Iraqi fighter jets bombarded a number of neighborhoods held by Islamic State militants in western Mosul on Saturday, two days after government forces became a few districts away from totally recapturing the eastern section. A source at Nineveh operations told London-based The New Arab newspaper that the airstrikes also killed a number of militants who were escaping the eastern regions to the west on nine boats via the Tigris River. The source said battles between government forces and the extremist group still continue at the districts of Rashidiya, Baisan and al-Qawsiyat in the northeast, which he said were the last Islamic State hideouts in the east. On Wednesday, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said the basic military plan for Mosul’s liberation had been completed “in most combat axes” with the recapture of central Mosul, adding that operations continue to liberate the Ghabat and Presidential Palaces area besides “a few other regions” in the north of the city. Commanders from the Iraqi army’s elite Counter-Terrorism Forces said in a press conference on the same day they had retaken all districts assigned to them in eastern Mosul, killing 3300 militants since operations launched in October 2016. After getting finished with eastern Mosul, Iraqi generals plan to advance to the western region of the city beyond the Tigris River, where Islamic State still predominates a majority of territory. The campaign to retake Mosul has entered its third month, with Iraqi government forces backed by U.S.-led international coalition fighter jets as well as popular militias. Posted by: badanov 2017-01-22 |
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