Counter-terrorism forces retake more areas in Mosul’s Old City

Members of the Iraqi Federal Police gesture after returning back from the front line in the Old City of Mosul. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah
The Iraqi Joint Operations Command said Counter-Terrorism Service troops took over Shaarin market, Nabi Girgis and Abd Khoub in the Old City.
It said earlier that the forces consummated the recapture the of al-Farouq area, which falls adjacent to the Nuri al-Kabir Mosque where IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi proclaimed the group’s rule over Iraq in 2014.
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Thursday hailed the recapture of the mosque by government troops, saying it stands as an announcement to the fall of IS’s self-styled “caliphate”.
CTS commander Abdul-Ghani al-Assadi said in statements on Friday that the final liberation of Mosul could be achieved within a few days, noting that only between 200 and 300 IS fighters were remaining in the city, adding that those were mostly foreign nationals.
Iraqi forces, backed by a U.S.-led coalition and paramilitary forces, launched a major offensive in October to retake Mosul. Operations managed to liberate the eastern side of the city in January, and charged at the western side starting February 19th.