Iraqi forces battled Takfiri terrorists inside Mosul for the third day running Sunday while civilians risked their lives dodging bombs and snipers to slip out of the city.
The elite Counter-Terrorism Service has been spearheading the attack on the eastern front of the three-week-old offensive on Mosul, Iraq’s largest military operation in years.
“Our forces are continuing to clear neighbourhoods including Al-Samah, Karkukli, Al-Malayeen and Shaqaq al-Khadra,” CTS Staff Lieutenant General Abdelghani al-Assadi told AFP.
The terrorists have given up some of its bastions in Iraq and Syria with barely a fight in recent months but its men began the defense of their last Iraqi hub with anger.
“Resistance is very heavy and they have suffered major losses,” Assadi said of ISIL.
Soldiers from the army’s 9th armored division also battled the terrorists in the southeastern neighborhood of Intisar, an AFP correspondent reported, as forces attempted to increase their footprint in eastern Mosul. They first entered the streets of Mosul on Friday.
On Sunday, Iraqi Defense Ministry announced that 30 terrorists were killed and an arms depot was destroyed in airstrikes in the village of al-Zawiyah, south of Mosul.
Two ringleaders of the terrorist group were among those slain.
The liberation of the strategic town of Hammam al-Alil in southern Mosul was among major gains by the Iraqi forces on Saturday.
Footage released by Iraqi media showed Hammam al-Alil residents celebrating army victories against ISIL. According to reports, 11 villages were recaptured in the area while the Iraqi flag was hoisted over buildings.
Some 35 other Takfiri elements were also killed, 17 car bombs were set off and 15 improvised explosive device (IED) were defused as part of the operation on Saturday.
Abadi: ISIL to be eliminated in near future
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi vowed the elimination of ISIL terror group in the near future on Saturday saying he brought “a message to the residents inside Mosul who are hostages in the hands of ISIL – we will liberate you soon.”
Speaking during a visit to Mar Kurkis (St. George) Monastery in northeastern periphery of Mosul on Saturday, the Iraqi leader stressed that the camping’s progress and the advance into Mosul had been faster than expected.
However, he signaled that the advance may be intermittent in the face of resistance by the extremists and their bombings and sniper fire. “Our heroic forces will not retreat and will not be broken. Maybe in the face of terrorist acts, criminal acts, there will be some delay,” Abadi said.
Also on Saturday, the Iraqi premier visited Erbil, where he met with senior officials of the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).
He had closed-door talks with KRG leader Masoud Barzani.
The Kurdish leader’s chief of staff Fuad Hussein said that the two officials discussed more coordination between Iraqi troops and Kurdish Peshmerga forces in the Mosul operation. Based on agreements between Baghdad and Erbil, Peshmerga forces will not enter Mosul, Hussein added.
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