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14 killed in eastern Mosul shelling, forces continue clearing last IS pockets

 14 killed in eastern Mosul shelling, forces continue clearing last IS pockets

Member of the Islamic State group prepares a mortar shell attack.

Member of the Islamic State group prepares a mortar shell to attack people in Mosul.
Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) Fourteen civilians were killed and 13 others were injured on Tuesday when Islamic State militants bombarded residential areas in eastern Mosul recently recaptured by government forces.

DPA quoted Dureid Saeed, a colonel from the army’s elite Counter-Terrorism Forces, as saying that five Katyusha rocket fired by the extremist group had landed von the districts of al-Zerai and Mohandessin in the northeast of the city.

The development comes as Iraqi forces continue to clear a handful of areas witnessing a presence by militants in the east, amid conflicting statements regarding the full recapture of that region.

A statement by the Defense Ministry’s media service, the War Media Cell, said brigades from the 15th and 9th division had invaded and recaptured the villages of Baawiza, Shreikhan, Baisan and a so-called “Nineveh dairy plant”.

The latest military advancement comes hours after Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and the defense ministry said Monday that the eastern region of Mosul had become totally free from IS extremists, an announcement that was dismissed by a spokesperson of the Joint Operations Command who said troops were still fighting the militants at a few regions.

Military commanders are reportedly making preparations to move onwards to western Mosul, a region that is predominantly under IS control and a home to nearly 750.000 civilians.

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