Friday, March 29, 2024

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Iraqi forces shell Islamic State locations in western Mosul

 Iraqi forces shell Islamic State locations in western Mosul

Iraqi security forces fire a heavy artillery. File photo.

Iraqi security forces fire a heavy artillery. File photo.
Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi artillery forces bombarded on Saturday Islamic State locations in the western side of Mosul as preparations are still running for a ground invasion of the extremist group’s locations in that region.

The government’s troops continue to beef up their deployments near the banks of Tigris River, which cuts through Iraq’s second largest city, a report by Rudaw agency said. It added that life has returned to normal in the eastern section, which was fully recaptured by the joint forces on January 24th, but several attempts by IS extremists to sneak back into that region were detected.

According to Rudaw’s reporter, who quoted Iraqi military sources, there are an estimated 1700 Islamic State militants in the western region, deployed across nearly 99 districts.

Iraqi government forces, backed by a U.S.-led international military coalition and paramilitary troops, launched a grand offensive on the city of Mosul in October, seeking to retake the capital of the Islamic State’s previously proclaimed capital in Iraq. Operations succeeded in retaking the whole of the eastern section after intense resistance from the militants who fled across Tigris River to the western side.

The battles, which left more than 3000 militants dead, have also forced 191.000 civilians to flee homes to refugee camps.

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