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Western Mosul reconquest: the final push continues
 Iraqi military recaptures two areas near IS-held mosque in Mosul’s Old City Mosul (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi government forces recaptured two areas at the heart of western Mosul’s Old City on Wednesday as operations push deeper against a few hundred Islamic State militants at their last bastion in the city. The Defense Ministry’s War Media Cell said army forces took over Hadrat al-Sada and Ahmadiya, northwest of the Grand Nuri Mosque where Islamic State’s supreme leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi proclaimed an Islamic “caliphate” in 2014. Police say 70% of Mosul’s Old City recaptured from Islamic State Mosul (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi forces have taken over 70 percent of western Mosul’s Old City district, Islamic State militants’ last refuge in Iraq’s second largest city, police forces said. Federal Police chief, Lt. Gen. Shaker Jawdat, said his forces moved Wednesday through al-Farouq street towards Bab al-Toub, Serjkhana, Bab Jadid and Bab Lakash, all areas in the middle of the medieval district. He said troops were engaging in fierce battles with an estimated 300 IS fighters, backed by warplanes and drones. During the advances, Jawdat said, police troops killed 63 militants. Those, he said, included Ahmed al-Jubouri, the commander of IS’s so-called “military police service”, Abu Fatema al-Ansari, a Moroccan who served as the top military commander for western Mosul, Abu Anas al-Suri, a Syrian in charge of detachments, and Abu Ruqaya, a top ammunition keeper. The forces, according to Jawdat, destroyed 14 booby-trapped cars and detonated 52 explosive devices. They also seized stacks of chemical substances and other munitions. Posted by: trailing wife 2017-06-29 |
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