Iraqi joint forces liberate new districts of Mousl from extremists

Iraqi joint forces resumed their advance in the right bank of the Iraqi city of Mousl, as they managed to control a large number of districts in the city.

Iraqi government forces recaptured Monday more districts on their new axis of operations against Islamic State militants in western Mosul, a senior commander said in statements.

Federal Police chief, Lt. Gen Shaker Jawdat, said in statements that his forces took over Shuqaq al-Haramat district, while moving forward at al-Haramat al-Thaniya, approaching Ektesadiyen and the major Islamic State stronghold district of 17 Tamuz (July 17th). Jawdat said 16 militants were killed and several combat equipment were destroyed during the offensives.

Earlier on Monday, Maj. Gen. Maan al-Saaid, a senior commander at the army’s elite Counter-Terrorism Service, said in statements that his forces moved towards the ٍSena’at Wadi Akab region, encircling areas on the outskirts of that region. Saadi said fierce fighting was ongoing with IS militants, but predicted the group’s resistance to wane shortly.

The developments come as Iraqi forces opened last week a new front targeting the strategic, IS-held Old City from the northwestern direction, having struggled for weeks to invade the densely populated and narrowly structured area from its southern entrances. Iraqi commanders have reported dozens of deaths among Islamic State militants and the recapture of large parts of districts falling next to the Old City from the northwest.

Earlier on Monday, a spokesperson of the Interior Ministry said ministry forces had killed 3320 IS members since the offensive to retake western Mosul was launched in February. Iraqi forces recaptured eastern Mosul in January after three months of fighting. Iraqi commanders say they currently control at least 70 percent of territory in the western side of Mosul.

In the same context, Around 200 families returned back to their homes in Abu Ghraib district, western Baghdad, after three years of being displaced, according to informed source. The displaced families returned on Monday to al-Anaz region in Abu Ghraib after three years of displacement, news reports quoted the source as saying.

Security troops, according to the source, removed the explosives and landmines from the region and checked the names of the returning civilians to prevent infiltration of terrorists among them. Over four million persons were displaced inside the country since the Islamic State emerged in 2014.

Since taking over several Iraqi cities, IS militants have adopted booby-trapping and landmines as a central defensive strategy against government forces. Proved effective, the tactic required extra cautiousness by Iraqi troops before staging any security offensives against ISIS locations.

On the political side, Prime Minister Haider Abadi stressed his government’s keenness to secure the border area with Syria during the coming period, to prevent any potential attempt from ISIS extremists to infiltrate to the Iraqi territories during the coming period.

He stressed that he follows the case of Iraqi young man who was killed in a security center in Karblaa, saying that he does not accept any accusation against the security forces without clear evidence. He stressed that his government will take strict measure against anyone involved in any violations against the Iraqi citizen.

He added that the Iraqi forces launched a military operation against the extremist elements in the western area of Anbar Province, saying that the border area is under control of ISIS from the Syrian side. He stressed that the Iraqi troops exert increasing efforts to secure the area from the Iraqi side.