Iraqi forces continue drive in western Mosul
Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) The Iraqi Federal Police command said Monday its troops resumed advances towards a strategic mosque in western Mosul as operations continue to clear the region from Islamic State militants.
The command said its forces proceeded towards Al-Hadbaa (leaning) Minaret at the Grand Nuri al-Kabir Mosque, where Islamic State’s supreme leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi delivered a famous sermon in 2014 proclaiming the establishment of an “Islamic Caliphate” in Iraq.
The statement said forces had killed 36 Islamic State members and destroyed 13 booby-trapped vehicles.
Inclement weather over the past few days had added to the difficulties facing Iraqi troops eyeing the Old City, a strategic target where the mosque is located. The area’s narrow alleyways and the density of the civilian population therein had prompted Iraqi and U.S.-led coalition troops to rely solely on precision air and artillery strikes without advancing on the ground.
Iraqi government troops recaptured eastern Mosul in January and are working to retake the western side of the city, making a remarkable progress by recapturing major government facilities, the city’s airport and a major military base.
Operations in Mosul have displaced more than 200.000 civilians since October, according to Iraqi government and United Nations counts.
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3 ISIS members shot to death in western Mosul
Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) Unknown individuals attacked a vehicle driven by Islamic State militants in western Mosul and killed all on board, an Iraqi security official said Monday.
Anadolu Agency quoted Cap. Abdul-Karim al-Lami, from the Interior Ministry’s intelligence unit, saying the attackers shot at the militants’ pickup truck in al-Najjar area, killing all on board and setting fire to the vehicle before fleeing away.
According to Lami, Islamic State members, boarding more than 12 vehicles, arrived to the scene of the attack, cordoning the area off and carrying the corpses away. He added that the militants searched civilians’ homes and arrested 32 young men, taking them to an unknown destination.
Iraqi government troops launched a major offensive in February to retake western Mosul from Islamic State militants. The troops recaptured the eastern side of IS’s largest stronghold in Iraq in January.
Federal Police chief, Lt. Gen. Shaker Jawdat, said in statements on Monday that his forces, fighting militants in western Mosul’s densely-populated and-structured Old City, was relying on drones as well as “internal revolutionary detachments” to “hunt Daesh(Islamic State) militants and destroy its defenses without causing harm to civilians or public and private property.”
Since operations launched in October 2016 to retake Mosul, occasional news reports spoke about attacks and assassinations of IS members by unknown assailants at areas under the extremist group’s control, arousing doubts about whether some indignant civilians started to voluntarily take arms against militants.
Iraqi airstrikes kill 67 ISIS Bad Guys near Mosul
Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) Airstrikes by Iraqi fighter jets and offensives by infatry divisions killed 67 Islamic State militants west of Mosul on Monday, according to the Ministry of Defense.
Airstrikes targeted IS locations in Al-Mazraa, Tal al-Banat and Toula Bash in Tal Afar and Sinjar, according to the ministry. The strike killed 47 militants and also destroyed five booby-trapped vehicles belonging to the group.
Infantry divisions also killed 20 IS members in Tal Afar, according the ministry.
Iraqi government troops launched a major offensive in February to retake western Mosul from Islamic State militants. The troops recaptured the eastern side of IS’s largest stronghold in Iraq in January.
Earlier on Monday, the Iraqi Air Force said in a statement it killed 2200 Islamic State fighters since operations launched to retake western Mosul.
Iraqi government forces have made remarkable victories over IS in western Mosul, retaking major government facilities, Mosul’s Airport and a major military camp. They are currently setting eyes on recapturing the Old City, which hosts the Grand Nuri Mosque where IS supreme leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared the establishment of an Islamic Caliphate in Iraq.
Iraqi security commanders have claimed retaking a half of the western side of the city.
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5 ISIS suspects detained in Mosul
Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) A police officer revealed on Monday, that security forces arrested five civilians, on charges of supporting the Islamic State group, while started to issue permits for people who like to leave the city of Mosul.
Captain Amir Wathiq said in a press statement that police forces arrested five civilians, on charges of supporting to the self-proclaimed Islamic State group, in the liberated areas in central Mosul.
Furthermore, security forces issued permits for people who like to want to leave the city of Mosul, toward Baghdad or Kurdistan Region, Wathiq added.
Nineveh Province is witnessing extensive military operations, after Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced launching an offensive to liberate the western side of the city of Mosul, in addition to capturing the last stronghold of the Islamic State in the city.
Iraqi forces captures sector in central Mosul
Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) An officer in the elite Counter-Terrorism forces announced on Monday, that security forces stormed into al-Najifi Street, in central Mosul.
Major Ali Mohsen said in a press statement that troops of the Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) stormed into al-Najifi Street, in central Mosul.
Violent battles are currently taking place between security forces and members of the Islamic State terrorist group in the street, Mohsen added.
Nineveh Province is witnessing extensive military operations, after Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced launching an offensive to liberate the western side of the city of Mosul, in addition to capturing the last stronghold of the Islamic State in the city.
ISIS captures 9 Iraqi officers in Mosul
[ARA News] Militants of the Islamic State (ISIS) on Monday captured nine Iraqi security officers west of Mosul city, in Iraq’s northwestern Nineveh Governorate.
“After fierce clashes in Western Mosul, Daesh terrorists took nine police officers, including a colonel, as captives,” the Iraqi Interior Ministry confirmed in a statement, using an Arabic acronym for ISIS.
The officers were reportedly captured by ISIS after running out of ammunition during the clashes.
“The operation took place in the Bab al-Jadid neighbourhood in western Mosul, where ISIS was able to prevent the Iraqi forces from advancing into its final stronghold in the key city,” head of Nineveh media centre Raafat al-Zarari told ARA News.
In the meantime, more than 180,000 Iraqi civilians have escaped Western Mosul over the past few days amidst escalating violence in the area.