Iraqi forces capture ISIS underground camp
Mosul (IraqiNews.com) The Iraqi Federal Police have gained control on a huge Islamic State military base in Mosul.
In a statement, Lt. Gen. Shaker Jawdat, chief of Federal Police, said the troops were able to control a training center known as ‘Abu Massoud camp’ at al-Bouseif village, west of Mosul.
The camp, according to Jawdat, is located 10 meters under the ground on area of 1,500 meters.
Moreover, the troops gained full control on al-Sarjkhana street reaching to Tigris River, the source added.
Special forces of the Federal Police controlled al-Shawaf building in al-Nujeifi region, in the Old City, according to Jawdat. Snipers are deployed on the top of the building to secure the troops in the region.
Fifteen IS militants were killed, he added.
On Wednesday, Jawdat declared death of around sixty Islamic State militants, including snipers, while combing Mosul’s Old City regions.
Four regions including al-Nujeifi, al-Sarai and parts of Lakash and Bab Jadid were still held by IS, Jawdat declared earlier this week. Once liberated, Federal Police will announce accomplishing its goals there.
20 ISIS Bad Guys die as Kurd grl is freed
Mosul (IraqiNews.com) A Yazidi girl has been freed, while three Islamic State militants, who attempted killing her while trying to flee Mosul’s Old City, were killed, the War Media Cell reported.
In a statement, the Defense Ministry’s WMC said troops “freed a Yazidi girl and killed three IS fighters who tried to kill her while fleeing toward troops in al-Shahwan region.”
Troops, according to the statement, also killed another 17 IS suicide attackers at the same region.
According to the latest estimate by the Directorate of Yazidi Abductees Affairs in Duhok, more than 6,417 Yazidi persons were freed from IS.
Many Yazidis were persecuted and held in Mosul by Islamic State, which considered them devil-worshippers.
A study on the number of Yazidis affected showed that at least 9,900 of Iraq’s Yazidis were killed or kidnapped in just days in an attack by the militants in 2014.
Iraqi command dies in Old Mosul
Mosul (IraqiNews.com) A commander of the Interior Ministry’s Rapid Response forces was killed on Thursday during the ongoing battles to retake remaining regions held by Islamic State in Mosul’s Old City.
A brief statement by the Rapid Response said “Cap. Hamid al-Azzawi was killed in the battles at Old City.”
A security source told Shafaq News, “Cap. Hamid Mohamed was killed, while another lieutenant general officer was injured by IS militants near al-Sarjkhana in the Old City.”
Another source said “Federal Police troops resume their advance in the last remaining 200 meters for the troops at the southern axis.”
Fierce clashes, according to the source, are ongoing at the Old City alleys. “The Counter-Terrorism Service troops are 100 meters away from Tigris River at al-Midan region,” the source said adding that IS fighters only have suicide attackers and snipers to depend on.
Meanwhile, Lieutenant General Abdul-Wahab al-Saadi of the Counter Terrorism Service (CTS), said troops killed ten suicide attackers , wearing explosive belts, while advancing through al-Midan region.
Iraqi commanders say IS families have joined Mosul fight
[Ynet] Iraqi commanders say female Islamic State militants are firing on their forces and using children as human shields as the extremist group defends its last sliver of Mosul's Old City.
The militants' use of human shields has repeatedly slowed Iraqi advances throughout the nearly nine-month offensive to retake the country's second largest city, and the commanders' frustration was on display as they watched surveillance footage from the front lines.
"The women are fighting with their children right beside them," Lt. Gen. Sami al-Aridi said as he was briefed by an officer holding a tablet computer showing drone imagery. "It's making us hesitant to use airstrikes, to advance. If it weren't for this we could be finished in just a few hours."