Iraqi forces resume advance in old Mosul
Mosul (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi government troops engaged in intense fighting with Islamic State members on Sunday as they continued incursions into IS’s last havens in western Mosul’s Old City.
Rudaw agency said army warplanes bombarded two IS locations in Zanjili district, south of the strategic Old City, the group’s last holdout in western Mosul.
Fierce encounters continue also at neighboring al-Sihha, where troops regained control by 70 percent, with militants encircled inside the Old City, according to the Kurdish-run network, which added that IS fighters attacked the troops with seven booby-trapped cars.
Iraqi commanders had predicted the battle against IS in Mosul to end before the holy month of Ramadan, which started Saturday.
Earlier this month, the Iraqi command said it moved towards the Old City from the northwest, having besieged the area for weeks from the south.
The Old City, with its narrowly structured alleyways, and with hundreds of thousands of civilians believed to be stranded inside, was the place where IS declared the establishment of its rule in Iraq in 2014.
The United Nations says it expects 200.000 civilians to flee the area as encounters heat up.
29 ISIS Bad Guys die in Baaj airstrikes
Baaj (IraqiNews.com) Twenty-nine Islamic State militants were killed in an airstrike launched by the Iraqi troops in Baaj town, western Nineveh, according to the Iraqi army.
“The army jets killed 29 IS members and destroyed a booby-trapped container, two vehicles and a third with gun installed on it while backing the paramilitary troops and joint troops in Mosul city and regions located west of it,” Colonel Mohamed al-Malki, spokesperson of the army airforce.
“The joint troops resume its operations that target liberating the remaining IS-held regions in Nineveh,” Malki added.
Close to the Iraqi-Iranian borders, Baaj is considered an important IS stronghold.
While major offensives take place in Mosul by Iraqi troops, backed by U.S.-led coalition, other offensives are launched by the paramilitary troops of al-Hashd al-Shaabi to liberate neighboring regions in Nineveh province.
Last week, the paramilitary troops launched a second phase of operations launched earlier this month to complete the liberation of villages in the vicinity of Qairawan, freed on Tuesday, ahead of advancing toward Baaj, west of Mosul city.
An offensive was launched by PMUs on May 12, which resulted in clearing of Qairawan region, a main Islamic State bastion in west of Mosul which links between Tal Afar town and the Syrian borders, from IS militants on Tuesday.
20 die in airstrikes in old Mosul
Mosul (IraqiNews.com) Forty-five civilians were killed and injured in airstrikes that hit Mosul’s Old City early on Sunday, news reports mentioned.
A local source told Al-Furat Al-Ikhbari news website that twenty civilians were killed, while more than 25 others were wounded in an airstrike launched by the international coalition led by the U.S. at al-Farouq street and Hadiret al-Sadah, north of the Old City.
The Old City is home of the ancient Grand Nuri Mosque, from which the group’s Supreme Leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi gave a famous sermon in 2014 declaring the establishment of the ‘caliphate’
Previously in May, the Joint Operations Command said more than 16,000 IS fighters were killed since start of Mosul operations in October.
Iraqi commanders say they at least 90 percent of territories in western Mosul is under Iraqi troops control, predicting to retake the city before the end of May. Only two districts besides the Old City are under IS control.
Iraqi forces have been sweeping through northwestern neighborhoods over the past few weeks in a way to invade the strategic Old City, after finding it hard to invade from the south.
The eastern side of Mosul was retaken in January after three months of battles. Another major offensive was launched in February to recapture the western flank of the city.
Iraqi militia captures village in western Mosul
Baaj (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi paramilitary troops recaptured another village on Sunday as they continue to clear Islamic State holdouts west of Mosul and near the borders with Syria.
Al-Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Units) said on its media website that troops took over al-Qahtaniya area, north of Baaj, and were combing the area to entirely eliminate militants.
PMUs, an alliance of more than 60 mostly Shia militias, are recognized by the government as a national force under the Prime Minister’s command. They have been actively engaged in the campaign against Islamic State militants in Nineveh’s western regions.
Al-Hashd has recaptured several villages since it launched an operation earlier this month to clear Qairawan and neighboring Baaj from IS. A top leader said last week Qairawan was totally liberated. Al-Hashd had said the region became isolated from Mosul and from IS havens in Syria.
Their campaign runs simultaneously with government troops operations in Mosul, Islamic State’s largest stronghold in Iraq. Security forces are currently invading the last districts held by IS in western Mosul, targeting the strategic Old City where IS first declared the inception of its proclaimed “caliphate”.
Iraqi commanders were recently quoted predicting the campaign to realize victory within a few days.