19 Bad Guys die in eastern Mosul
Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) Two Iraqi army soldiers and ten militants were killed Tuesday when Islamic State militants attacked an eastern Mosul neighborhood already under security control, security sources said.
Anadolu Agency quoted Maj. Nabhan al-Maamouri, from the Interior Ministry’s Rapid Response Forces, as saying that the ten militants sneaked on the dawn of Tuesday to Sumer district, southeast of the city, after crossing the Tigris River from the western region.They took over alleys and streets in the neighborhood for more than three hours, the officer said. They were all killed by intervening army forces, said Maamouri.
The officer added that Islamic State militants have recently used to attack liberated districts with small combat companies or drones supplied with IEDs.
Iraqi generals have recently said they had fought off a few attacks by IS militants coming from the group’s strongholds in the west since government troops announced retaking the eastern region on January 24th. The group lost more than 3000 militants in three months of encounters with Iraqi troops, and is now reinforcing its defenses in the west anticipating imminent ground invasions by security forces.
The conflict in Mosul has forced at least 191.000 people to flee to refugee camps, according to government data. Military officials predict a more difficult battle in western Mosul, having to ensure the safety of at least 750.000 civilians there.
15 ISIS Turbans die in airstrikes in western Mosul
Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) Airstrikes by U.S.-led coalition fighter jets killed 15 Islamic State militants in western Mosul on Tuesday, Iraq’s defense ministry said in a statement.
Iraqi jets partaking in the strikes, which targeted Islamic State locations in the strategic town of Tal Afar, also destroyed a booby-trapping workshop and a weaponry cache, according to the ministry.
Iraqi and coalition fighter aircraft have carried out several strikes against IS strongholds in the west of Mosul since government troops announced retaking the eastern section from the group on January 24th.
Islamic State had lost at least 3000 fighters in three months of battles with Iraqi and allied coalition forces since October. It has now been confined to the west but there were several recent attacks by militants who crossed the Tigris River into the east to wage assaults on recaptured areas.
Military officials, preparing for a ground invasion of western Mosul, are predicting tougher battles due to the narrow streets of that area and the high population density.
The United Nations had voiced concerns for the fate of at least 750.000 civilians trapped in western Mosul, and Iraqi government data have put the number of those displaced by the war there at 191.000.