Iraqi forces capture Mosul city's eastern districts

Troops from Iraq's Counter-Terrorism Service have captured six districts of eastern Mosul from Islamic State militants, a military statement said on Friday.

MENA

2 min read

The New Arab

04 November, 2016

Iraqi forces took over the neighbourhoods of Malayeen, Samah, Khadra, Karkukli, Quds and Karama [Getty]

Elite Iraqi forces backed by artillery and airstrikes captured six districts east of Mosul from Islamic State [IS] militants, a military statement said on Friday.

At dawn, fighters from the elite counter-terrorism forces bristling with ammunition checked their weaponry and left Gogjali, the last village on the eastern outskirts of Mosul.

Moments later, they were at a cemetery on the edge of the city controlled by IS, and Iraqi forces were pounding the nearby al-Karama neighbourhood with tank shells and gunfire.

In a televised statement, Lieutenant General Abdul Ghani al-Asadi, head of Iraq's counter-terrorism forces, said Iraqi forces "seized control of a number of districts within the eastern parts of the Mosul."

The forces took over the neighbourhoods of Malayeen, Samah, Khadra, Karkukli, Quds and Karama.

"The forces captured a landfill site and flour mills inside the city," an army officer told The New Arab.

This week Iraqi forces were deployed on the eastern edge of the city, the most advanced of three main fronts in the huge operation to recapture Mosul launched on October 17.

They have moved into rural districts on the city's outskirts, at some points crossing the municipal boundary, but have yet to venture into the built-up area.

There has been an exodus of civilians from outlying villages but few of the million-plus people still believed trapped inside the city have managed to escape.

Caliphate 'on defensive'

In a rare audio message released on Thursday, IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi urged his fighters to defend the city where he proclaimed the "caliphate" in June 2014.

Baghdadi called on the estimated 3,000 to 5,000 fighters still in Mosul to make a stand for Iraq's second city.

"Holding your ground with honour is a thousand times easier than retreating in shame," he said.

IS has continued to post propaganda video from Mosul, the latest of which showed a busy market area and cars stopping at traffic lights.

With colder weather setting in, concern has grown for the city's civilian population.

Aid groups say up to a million people could seek to flee as soon as they can but shelter is available for only a fraction of that number.

The UN said it received credible reports of IS forcing tens of thousands of civilians into Mosul from outlying areas for use as "human shields".

Agencies contributed to this report