Thursday, March 28, 2024

Baghdad

Commander denies news on suspending military operations in Mosul

 Commander denies news on suspending military operations in Mosul

Mosul(IraqiNews.com) The Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Forces (ICTF) has denied news on suspending military operations in western Mosul for fear of civilian casualties.

“News on suspending military operations are incorrect. Progress in western and central Mosul is ongoing,” Iraqi Staff Major General Maan al-Saadi of ICTF told BasNews.

“The progress of ICTF troops and Federal Police is ongoing in the western side,” he added indicating huge losses among Islamic State group especially snipers who hinder the advance by security troops.

Troops, according to Saadi, are now fighting at several regions. The advance by the troops, however, is slowed down due to the high number of civilians at areas of the battles, which forces the troops to be cautious to avoid casualties among civilians.

Another reason behind the slow advance is “the weak air cover due to bad weather conditions,” Saadi added.

News reports mentioned earlier on Monday the suspension of the operations by Iraqi troops against Islamic State in Mosul after battles reached to densely-populated areas in the Old City.

“Currently, there is a delay, to open safe passageways for families and residents towards the safe areas and camps,” Lieutenant Colonel Emad Khalas told Reuters.

More than 200 civilians were killed when fighter jets from the U.S.-led international coalition allegedly bombarded IS locations in a western Mosul district last month. The Pentagon said it was going to investigate the allegations.

Eastern Mosul was recaptured from IS in January, after a US-backed offensive was launched in October. A new offensive started in February to retake the west. The operations reportedly witnessed occasional slowdowns due to bad weather as well as the emergence of reports of civilian deaths resulting from security strikes. But Iraqi troops continued to retake areas in western Mosul shortly after those reports.

Battles in the west are believed to be much more difficult due to the density of residential areas and the high number of civilians who the commanders believe are used as human shields by IS members.

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