UPDATED: Iraqi forces storm 3 western Mosul neighborhoods, 12 militants killed
Rapid Response forces members cross farm land during a battle with islamic state’s militants south west Mosul, Iraq February 24, 2017. .REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra
The Defense Ministry’s War Media Cell said Sunday Federal Police and Rapid Response teams invaded Bab al-Toub, an area adjacent to the Old City.
Federal Police chief, Lt. Gen. Shaker Jawdat, said his snipers were deployed above the district’s highest buildings. The teams are also conducting searches and evacuating civilians from the neighboring Okaidat and Dawasah districts, Jawdat said.
Earlier on Sunday, the WMC said the army’s elite Counter-Terrorism Forces stormed the districts of al-Aghawat and Mosul al-Jadidah.
Iraqi Dijlah TV also quoted a security source saying airstrikes by the U.S.-led coalition killed five IS snipers stationed at the Ashur hotel, located on the western bank of the Tigris River. It said those killed were Russian and German nationals, but did not give names.
The channel added that other strikes by the coalition killed seven militants in al-Boursa, a district also by the river’s bank.
Iraqi government forces took over eastern Mosul in January after three months of fighting with IS, and have entered a third week of operations to clear the western region from militants. The troops have become closer to the central Mosul’s Old City, having recaptured major government facilities, a military base and the city’s airport.
Quoting sources, news reports said the Iraqi forces invaded the Old City on Saturday, but a senior military officer was quoted saying ground invasions were halting temporarily due to bad weather conditions.
Military leaders from the Iraqi side and the allied U.S.-led coalition had foreseen a tougher battle in western Mosul due to the region’s dense residential areas and the high number of population estimated by 750.000.
The conflict in Mosul has displaced above 250.000 people since operations launched in October 2016. Refugees from western Mosul alone reached 89.000 on Saturday.
Correction: the article previously said 25 militants were killed in Bab al-Toub, but the news was two days old.
-The spelling of the district’s name was amended from Oghwat to Aghawat.