Police say 70% of Mosul’s Old City recaptured from Islamic State
Federal police members carry their weapons as they attempt to break into the Old City during a battle against Islamic State militants, in Mosul, Iraq March 19, 2017. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani
Federal Police chief, Lt. Gen. Shaker Jawdat, said his forces moved Wednesday through al-Farouq street towards Bab al-Toub, Serjkhana, Bab Jadid and Bab Lakash, all areas in the middle of the medieval district.
He said troops were engaging in fierce battles with an estimated 300 IS fighters, backed by warplanes and drones.
During the advances, Jawdat said, police troops killed 63 militants. Those, he said, included Ahmed al-Jubouri, the commander of IS’s so-called “military police service”, Abu Fatema al-Ansari, a Moroccan who served as the top military commander for western Mosul, Abu Anas al-Suri, a Syrian in charge of detachments, and Abu Ruqaya, a top ammunition keeper.
The forces, according to Jawdat, destroyed 14 booby-trapped cars and detonated 52 explosive devices. They also seized stacks of chemical substances and other munitions.
Operations to recapture western Mosul launched in mid February. Government forces took over the eastern side of the city in January.
The Old City hosts the Grand Nuri Mosque from where Islamic State’s supreme leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi ascended a pulpit to proclaim the establishment of the group’s rule in Iraq and Syria.