More than 100 IS militants killed as one western Mosul district retaken
Smoke rises over the city during clashes between Iraqi forces and Islamic State militants, in Mosul, Iraq March 25, 2017. REUTERS/Khalid al Mousily
“The group lost 120 militants during battles on al-Sihha district in western Mosul over the past few days,” Brigadier General Sabah Noaman, spokesperson of the army’s elite Counter-Terrorism Service, said in press remarks adding that CTS troops awaits meeting with Federal Police’s Rapid Response troops and army at the northern region to fully besiege the Old City.
The total area controlled by IS is less than three-four square kilometers, Noaman said without setting a date for end of military operations.
On Friday, Lt. Gen. Abdul Amir Yarallah, head of Nineveh Operations Command, said CTS liberated al-Sihha al-Oula district.
As the district is freed, IS now has only two remaining districts of al-Shifaa, al-Zanjili and parts of the Old City.
In western Nineveh, Iraqi troops started digging trenches that stretch along regions that were liberated last week.
Iraqi forces have been sweeping through northwestern neighborhoods over the past few weeks in a way to invade the strategic Old City, after finding it hard to invade from the south.
The eastern side of Mosul was retaken in January after three months of battles. Another major offensive was launched in February to recapture the western flank of the city.