Gunman wounded, 8 arrested in Mosul operation

NINEWA / IraqiNews.com: A gunman was wounded and eight others were captured during a security operation in western Mosul city, an official source said on Wednesday. “A gunman was injured and another was arrested during clashes with joint U.S.-Iraqi forces in Ayn al-Maleh village, al-Biaaj district,” a security source from Ninewa Operations Command told IraqiNews.com. “While the joint forces were searching the area, two gunmen driving a vehicle attempted to escape after they had opened fire on a U.S. chopper. One of the gunmen was wounded and the other was arrested. RPG shells, a PKC machine gun and two improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were found in their possession,” the source added. “Seven others were arrested in the same village over their suspected involvement in the incident. Investigations are currently underway,” according to the source. Mosul, the capital city of Ninewa, lies 405 km north of Baghdad. The original city of Mosul stands on the west bank of the Tigris River, opposite the ancient biblical city of Nineveh on the east bank, but the metropolitan area has now grown to encompass substantial areas on both banks, with five bridges linking the two sides. Despite having an amount of Kurdish population, it does not form part of the area controlled by the Kurdistan Regional Government Kurdistan RegionG). There are different communities in Mosul like Christians, Shiites and Kurds along with a Sunni majority. The fabric Muslin, long manufactured in Mosul, is named for this city. Another historically important product of the area is Mosul marble. The city is also a historic center for the Nestorian Christianity of the Assyrians, containing the tombs of several Old Testament prophets such as Jonah, Yunus in Arabic, and Nahum. SS (S)/SR 1