Abadi says eastern Mosul almost recaptured, IS in “tactical retreat”
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi is seen on a screen as he speaks via a videoconference during a ministerial summit to hold discussion on the future of Mosul city, post-Islamic State, in Paris, France, October 20, 2016. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau
Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said Wednesday that only a few areas remain to totally liberate eastern Mosul from Islamic State militants, praising counter-terrorism forces for fully retaking areas on their targets list.
Abadi said in a statement by his office that “the basic military plan” for Mosul’s liberation had been completed “in most combat axes” with the recapture of central Mosul, adding that operations continue to liberate the Ghabat and Presidential Palaces area besides “a few other regions” in the north of the city.
Commanders from the Iraqi army’s elite Counter-Terrorism Forces said in a press conference on Wednesday they had retaken all districts assigned to them in eastern Mosul, killing 3300 militants since operations launched in October 2016.
Meanwhile, Islamic State militants are making a “tactical retreat” from the eastern areas of Mosul to the west via the Tigris River, an indication that the extremist group concedes defeat to government forces, according to a local source in the province of Nineveh.
The group is making distress calls to supply boats for its fleeing leaderships and fighters, the source was quoted by Alsumaria News as saying.
IS propaganda bodies have begun to promote a “tactical retreat” from the eastern section of the city to the west, where it still maintains influence, the source said, labeling the notion as “an obvious admission of defeat”. He added that the group is using the “tactical retreat” so as not to affect the morale of its fighters.
The recapture of eastern Mosul would represent a significant impetus for security forces which hope to move to the IS-dominated western region.