Iraqis prepare for offensive in western Mosul
(Reuters/IraqiNews.com) Iraqi forces have started preparing an offensive to capture the western side of Mosul from Islamic State, campaign commander Lieutenant General Abdul Amir Rasheed Yarallah said.
Popular Mobilization “is preparing an operation in the next two, three days, to back up the operation to retake the right bank” of the city, on the western side of the Tigris river, Mosuliya TV cited him as saying on Tuesday.
Popular Mobilization is a coalition of predominantly Iranian-trained Shi’ite groups, formed in 2014 to take part in the war on Islamic State. It became officially part of the Iraqi armed forces last year.
Iraqi officials on Monday announced that the eastern side of the northern Iraqi city has been taken from Islamic State, after nearly 100 days of fighting. A statement by the Defense Ministry said the whole region had been retaken. Though the announcement was disputed by a spokesperson of the Joint Operations Command, Yahia Rasoul, who said a few areas were awaiting incursion, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi confirmed final victory over IS in the eastern region.
Military officials and observers are predicting a tougher battle in the west, where IS has already, according to reports, begun clearing residential areas from civilians, erecting roadblocks and deploying snipers.
Iraqi militia begins road clearing operations
Salahuddin (IraqiNews.com) Al-Hashd a-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Units) launched on Tuesday a military operation to secure the roads linking Baghdad and Salahuddin with Mosul.
A reporter for the PMU’s media service said three brigades from the units, backed by Federal Police personnel, launched an operation on Tuesday morning to secure 7 kilometers of the road between Baghdad and Mosul, which passes at the north and northeast of Salahuddin’s town of Shirqat.
The report said the move is designed to clear villages along that road which had previously been infiltrated by Islamic State militants sneaking from Hawija, Kirkuk. It added that the units recaptured the villages of jaber Huweidi, Hindi, Admana and Fayyad al-Thalj on the Tikrit-Mosul road.
Iraqi joint forces recaptured the whole of the eastern side of Mosul on Monday, and plan to move to the western side to battle IS militants out. The extremist group has stepped up bloody attacks in Salahuddin and Baghdad in recent weeks, a development which observers believe is aimed at making up for losses in Mosul and to distract security authorities.
Al-Hashd was formed from a coalition of Shia militias in 2014, and has been fighting Islamic State militants on the side of the Iraqi government since then. It gained government recognition as a national armed force late last year.
Security forces seize munitions cache in Hamam al-Alil area
Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) Federal Police Command announced on Tuesday discovering a warehouse containing rockets and missiles in Hamam al-Alil area, south of Mosul.
The Command said in a press statement, “Today, Federal Police’s 3rd brigade discovered a warehouse containing rockets and missiles in Hamam al-Alil area.”
“The warehouse contains 100 Katyusha rockets, 7 120mm mortar shells, 40 60mm mortar missiles and 100 120mm mortar rockets,” the source added.
Nineveh Province is witnessing, since October 2016, extensive military operations to retake the city of Mosul that was captured by the Islamic State in June 2014.