Iraqi police find more IS underground tunnels in Mosul
Members of the Iraqi Federal Police forces stand inside an underground tunnel dug by Islamic State militants south of western Mosul’s Old City.
Mosul (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi Federal Police forces on Saturday ran into more underground tunnels dug by Islamic State militants in Mosul, continuing operations to comb the city for group vestiges.
The service’s chief, Lt. Gen. Shaker Jawdat, said a network of underground tunnels was discovered south of the Old City, the medieval neighborhood from which Islamic State declared its self-styled “caliphate” in Iraq in 2014.
He also said the forces seized a stash of projectiles belonging to the group.
Iraqi government forces continue to comb Mosul for hidden Islamic State cells since Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi officially declared that the city became under troops’ control early July. Islamic State members have launched intermittent attacks against security forces and civilians over the past few weeks.
The Iraqi Joint Operations Command, which had led the campaign against IS in Mosul, said IS had lost more than 25.000 of its fighters in more than eight months of fighting. The government plans to launch further offensives to retake a few remaining havens in Nineveh, Kirkuk, Anbar and Salahuddin provinces.