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| Iraq |
| Mosul Offensive News |
| 2016-11-03 |
| Iraqi security forces capture village near Mosul (IraqiNews.com) Nineveh – Iraqi Anti-Terrorism forces killed tens of suicide fighters of the Islamic State group inside Mosul’s eastern city of Kokajli, while continue advancing to liberate the city, Al Sumaria News reported on Wednesday. Al Sumaria News stated, “This development came after the security forces besieged the explosive belt-clad fighters inside the city,” adding that, “Civilians in the area remained inside their houses.” Hossam-Eddin Al-Abbar, a member of Nineveh Provincial Council, said, “Last Monday, army forces liberated Kokajli, the first district on the line of operations in eastern Mosul, labeling the development as a deterioration in ISIS defense lines.” In a related context, commanders of the security operation in the battle to liberate Mosul, Islamic State’s last bastion in Iraq, said on Wednesday that operations to free the city continue non-stop at the city’s western coast, while Commanders of the operation, codenamed “We Are Coming, Nineveh,” said they managed, today, to liberate al-Minkar village. Joint security forces, al-Hashd al-Shaabi militias, Kurdish Peshmerga, all backed by Army Aviation and US-led coalition air force, continue advancing towards Mosul, entering the 17th day of operations to liberate ISIS last stronghold in Iraq from the militant group. Iraqi security forces within 10 miles of Mosul airport (IraqiNews.com) Nineveh – Iraqi federal police said on Wednesday, that security forces have become only 16 kilometers away from Mosul Airport, as battles continue to liberate the city from the grip of the Islamic State militant group. Raed Shaker Jawdat, Federal Police Chief, said in a press statement, “Federal police forces had managed to free 12 villages near Hammal al-Alil,” adding that, “16 kilometers separate us from Mosul Airport.” “Federal police forces continue to advance to liberate the rest of regions,” he added. Iraqi government forces, backed by al-Hashd al-Shaabi forces, Kurdish Peshmerga troops and US-led international air forces, are proceeding with an all-out battle to free Mosul, the Islamic State’s last bastion in Iraq. Meanwhile, operations, codenamed “We Are Coming, Nineveh,” have proven to be largely successful, with the Islamic State reportedly evacuating its wounded fighters from hospitals, closing down its secret prisons and facing food shortages. Iraqi forces capture ISIS troops in Mosul (IraqiNews.com) Nineveh – A video released by Al Sumaria News on Wednesday showed, that Iraqi Anti-Terrorism forces arrested a number of militants from the Islamic State extremist group in Kokjli area in the city of Mosul. The footage reflected the joy of residents after the security forces freed them from the control of the extremist group, and emphasized that members of the Anti-Terrorism Directorate will chase the remaining fighters of the Islamic State with the help of the people of Mosul. One of people of Kokjli said that they are delighted to get rid of the extremist group, and he immediately shaved his beard after the ISIS members escaped from the area. Earlier today, Anti-Terrorism forces managed to kill dozens of the ISIS members, after besieging them in Kokjli area in the eastern axis of the city of Mosul. Video report at the link Iraqi militia capture 6 ISIS headquarters (IraqiNews.com) Mosul – Al-Hashed al-Shaabi said Wednesday that 115 square kilometers of the city of Mosul were liberated from Islamic State militants. In a statement obtained by Alsumaria TV, the militia said six important locations in the city became under its control, while five booby-trapped vehicles were detonated west of the city, killing all on board. The statement added that supply lines connecting group fighters had been completely cut. The liberated areas bring the total of Daesh-free areas in Mosul to 705 square kilometers in five days of operations by al-Hashed al-Shaabi in the city’s western section, according to the statement, which added that 47 IS fighters had been killed in that period . Prime Minister and Armed Force chief, Haider al-Abadi, announced on Monday that Iraqi forces were so close to Mosul, demanding residents to stay at home. Government forces, aided by a US-led coalition, Kurdish Peshmerga fighters and Shia paramilitaries are carrying out a major offensive on Mosul, Islamic State’s last bastion in Iraq and its formerly proclaimed capital. IS militants have reportedly evacuated wounded comrades from hospitals to unknown locations, closed down their secret prisons and started to face food supply shortages. Iraqi militia planning to enter Syria (IraqiNews.com) Nineveh – A senior official of al-Hashd al-Shaabi militia fighting against the self-proclaimed Islamic State in Mosul said on Wednesday, that his militia would continue to fight the militant group beyond the Iraqi borders inside Syria. Abu Alaa al-Walaei, Secretary General of Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada (Master of Martyers Battalions), said in a press statement, “Troops of al-Hashd al-Shaabi would continue to chase ISIS fighters inside Syria after liberating Tel Afar, west of Mosul.” Walaei also pointed out that seven ISIS members were killed, and caches of weapons were discovered after liberating Asiliya and Mostantak villages. He added that his forces managed to repel an attack by a convoy of booby-trapped vehicles in the village of Yazidi, west of Mosul. “The battalions raised the Iraqi flag above the liberated villages, and they are now engaging with ISIS in the neighboring villages of Tel Saqf and Mahlabiya, and inflicting heavy losses in lives and equipment on the extremist group,” Walaei stated. Last Monday, Hadi al-Aemri, a senior leader in the Shia-led al-Hashed al-Shaabi, also voiced readiness to take the fight to Syria. “Our mission is to liberate our country, and we would move to Syria if it requires so,” he said. More from al-Manar Iraqi forces fought their way into terrorist-held north of Mosul, the military said, as a top commander declared the “true liberation” of the city from the so-called ‘Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant’ (ISIL) terrorist group had begun. Just over two weeks into the massive offensive to retake Mosul, soldiers managed to push within city limits. Troops had “entered the Judaidat Al-Mufti area, within the left bank of the city of Mosul,” said the Joint Operations Command. Mosul is split by the Tigris River, with the eastern half of the city known as the left bank. Judaidat al-Mufti is on the southeastern side of the city. Elite Iraqi forces had also recaptured the key village of Gogjali and taken control of a television station building belonging to a local affiliate of Iraqiya state TV on the eastern edge of the city. Fighters from the Counter-Terrorism Service had pushed into the area amid heavy fighting on the eastern front in the past two days. “Now is the beginning of the true liberation of the city of Mosul,” Staff General Taleb Sheghati al-Kenani, the commander of the CTS, told Iraqiya from Gogjali. “We are working with army units to secure the area and advance on Mosul together,” Muntathar Salem, a lieutenant colonel with CTS told an AFP reporter near the front line. Soldiers from Iraq’s 16th Division also retook a series of villages north of Mosul, according to the Joint Operations Command, while pro-government paramilitary forces said they captured villages southwest of the city. Since the offensive was launched on October 17, federal forces and Kurdish peshmerga fighters have retaken a series of villages as they advance on the city from the north, east and south. As his forces advanced, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi warned the terrorists they would have no place to run. “We will close in on (ISIL) from every place,” he said on state television on Monday, dressed in a camouflage uniform. “They don’t have an exit, they don’t have an escape, they can only surrender — they can die or they can surrender,” said Abadi. Paramilitary forces from the Popular Mobilisation Forces launched an assault at the weekend to cut off that route. They have been advancing north, their sights set on the town of Tal Afar which commands the city’s western approaches. On the northern and eastern sides of Mosul, peshmerga forces from the autonomous Kurdish region have taken a series of villages and towns and consolidated their positions, while federal forces have advanced toward the city from the south. Iraqi forces are expected to try to open safe corridors for the million-plus civilians still believed to be inside. Aid workers are bracing for a long-feared exodus of civilians from Mosul, a relief group said on Wednesday. The United Nations says up to one million people could be displaced in the coming weeks. More from Asharq Al-Awsat Kirkuk-Iraqi security forces renewed clashes with ISIS militants across Mosul streets. The fighting is the first to take place after successfully breaking into the terror group’s stronghold. As the offensive advances, Iraqi forces have locked control over the Kokjla area, located in eastern Mosul. Counterterrorism forces raised the national flag over the Mosul’s state TV building as a sign of securing victory over the extremist gunmen in the neighborhood. Special forces entered the eastern outskirts of the city earlier Tuesday, marking the first time Iraqi troops have set foot in Mosul since 2014. A top military official at the taskforces headquarters along with other eyewitnesses said that ISIS terrorists have strategically installed snipers across rooftops hoping to slowdown the advance of Iraqi forces across residential areas. One of the Quds neighborhood residents, in Mosul’s eastern vicinity, says that ISIS fire is visible to the naked eye, as it strikes Iraqi forces and vehicles in alleyways. The clashes have been downgraded to backstreet fighting, added the Iraqi citizen. More so, the U.N. human rights office lauded efforts by the U.S.-led coalition in the battle against ISIS in Mosul. The office in Geneva said that coalition flights over Iraq have largely succeeded in preventing ISIS from bringing in 25,000 civilians from ISIS-held areas into the city, where the militant group has been using people as human shields as Iraqi forces advance on Mosul. OHCHR spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani on Tuesday cited unspecified reports of ISIS sending trucks and minibuses to Hamam al-Alil, south of Mosul, from where it was to bring people in. She said coalition strikes along roadways largely prevented the transfer toward Mosul, forcing the trucks to turn back. She added some minibuses reached Abusaif along the way to Mosul. Shamdasani also told reporters in Geneva that her office received new reports of “mass killings” by ISIS, including on Saturday of 40 former Iraqi security force members whose bodies were thrown into the Tigris River. |
| Posted by:badanov |