Iraqi forces fight against the extremists to liberate Mousl

Iraqi army attempted to confront a number of terrorists who managed to infiltrate to the Iraqi village of Imam in the southern area of Mousl, as they managed to control the area and took a number of its residents hostage.

Iraqi special forces are fighting 100 Islamic State suicide bombers remaining in western Mosul’s Old City district as operations continue to clear the last few kilometers held by the extremist group, according to a senior commander.

Abdul-Wahab al-Saidi, a senior commander of the army’s elite Counter-Terrorism Service, said in press statements Wednesday that only 150 meters remained in IS grip in the Old City, adding that 90 percent of the remaining militants were foreigners.

Major Ali Mohsen, a member of the CTS, was also quoted by BasNews saying that troops took over 90 percent of al-Midan area, which he said hosted the group’s incarceration units and ammunition reservoirs. He added that 40 persons detained by the group at one of its underground tunnels were set free, but were in poor health conditions.

Iraq’s state TV also quoted Abdul-Amir Yarallah, head of the Joint Operation Command’s Nineveh Operations, saying that troops recaptured Khatouniya and Tawaleb, two of the last remaining IS-held areas in the Old City. Iraqi Federal Police forces also deployed snipers on Wednesday to secure their passageway to the last IS hideout  on their axis of operations in the Old City.

The service’s chief, Shaker Jawdat, said in a statement that special forces deployed on the rooftop of a so-called “Shawwaf building” as forces advance towards al-Nujaifi area, the last spot held by IS at the police’s scope of operations in the medieval district.

Iraqi government forces, backed by a U.S.-led coalition, have been fighting IS out of Mosul since mid October. Last Thursday, troops took over the Old City’s Nuri al-Kabir Mosque where IS first declared its self-styled “caliphate” in 2014. The war against IS has displaced at least 900.000, according to Iraqi and United Nations authorities, and civilians continued to flee as operations reached the last hideouts in the Old City.

In the same context, Twenty-five tribal forces personnel were killed and injured in an attack launched by the Islamic State against a village in Qayyarah, south of Mosul, DPA reported. According to sources, IS militants attacked al-Imam village, west of Qayyarah, located south of Mosul city, coming from Shirqat town, north of Salahuddin province. The Tribal Mobilization Forces confronted the fighters, which left two personnel killed and 25 others wounded.

The confrontations, according to the sources, are still ongoing. Iraqi troops had liberated Qayyarh in August. More than 700 Iraqis dead and wounded during the month of June as result of violence and armed conflicts, according to a monthly count by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) which excludes security members deaths. Baghdad ranked the second place with 22 deaths and 88 injuries.

According to a previous count by UNAMI, 824 Iraqis were killed and wounded during the month of May. Violence in the country has surged further with the emergence of Islamic State Sunni extremist militants who proclaimed an “Islamic Caliphate” in Iraq and Syria in 2014. Observers argue that attacks outside the city prove that the extremist group can still pose a security threat for all cities.

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.

Iraqi government forces, backed by a U.S.-led coalition, have been fighting against IS fighters since mid October. The eastern side of Mosul was recaptured in January after three months of battles. Another offensive was launched in February to retake the western flank of the city. Last week, troops took over the Old City’s Nuri al-Kabir Mosque where IS first declared its self-styled “caliphate” in Iraq and Syria in 2014.