UPDATED: Iraqi forces partially retake western Mosul’s Tenek, 15 militants, one officer killed
An Iraqi rapid response member stands guard near the field hospital, as Iraqi forces battle with Islamic State militants, western Mosul, Iraq March 9, 2017. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra
Cap. Saeed al-Alousi, from the Interior Ministry’s Rapid Response forces, told Anadolu Agency that forces from the army’s elite Counter-Terrorism Service took over seven alleyways at al-Tenek, a district that is considered one of IS’s most remarkable havens. CTS forces killed 15 militants from the group and arrested three others, while losing one officer, he said.
Bad weather at that area prompted the U.S.-led coalition to reduce airstrikes against IS there, according to Al-Alousi.
Meanwhile, Cap. Ali Mohsen, from the CTS, told BasNews that the forces also freed 30 families previously kidnapped by IS to use them as human shields. He also put the number of militants killed at 31, including five foreign suicide bombers.
Earlier on Thursday, the Federal Police command said its troops killed 13 militants and advanced closer to the Nuri al-Kabir Mosque, a much-coveted target for the Iraqi troops being the place where Islamic State declared the establishment of its “caliphate” in Iraq and Syria.
Iraqi government forces, backed by the coalition and paramilitary groups, recaptured eastern Mosul in January, and launched another offensive in February to retake the western region. Iraqi commanders said earlier this week that IS militants were in control over less than seven percent of Iraqi territory.