Iraqi forces retake one more village en route to liberate Mosul

Forces engaged in the liberation of Daesh’s last stronghold in the country have raised Iraq’s flag on one more village on their way to fully retake Mosul.

On Monday, Lieutenant General Abdul Amir Yarallah announced that the Iraqi army’s ninth division had fully purged the village of al-Qasr, located to the east of the Tigris River, which splits the city in two.

"We were able to breach the enemy's defense lines and we have fully liberated al-Qasr area. A number of Daesh was killed and others fled. This was due to the good planning by the commander of Nineveh Operations Command and the courage of our fighters," said Sadeq Rissan Muhana, the commander of 37th armored infantry brigade of the 9th armored division.

The commander of We Are Coming, Nineveh Operations noted that the anti-Daesh forces’ forthcoming goal is to fully retake the city’s eastern region.

Lieutenant Yarallah also announced that several other regions in Nineveh, where Mosul is located, have been fully liberated from the terrorists.

“Today, security forces managed to liberate the areas of Nineveh Plain, south of Mosul, completely,” he said. “Security operations are ongoing until the full liberation of the entire province."

Iraqi Special Forces also announced the recapture of several other districts on the city’s east side.

A spokesman for the country’s elite troops noted that Masaref and Sukar districts have been cleansed of the terrorists.

Iraq calls for civilians to stay put

Meanwhile, the Iraqi government has called on around one million civilians still in the city to remain in there as humanitarian organizations are having difficulty dealing with the influx of displaced people.

Around 75,000 civilians have fled the city so far, and the UN is struggling to prepare for a worst case scenario in which over a million people are displaced by the fighting.

"Daesh fighters are going around on foot from house to house while the army fights them," said a local. "All civilians are leaving the area, shops are closed,” he added.

"We are so glad that Daesh is gone…We will stay here but we haven't had water or electricity for two weeks," said another local.  

Iraqi military officials have warned that the operations may take several months and that retaking the city’s west side will be more difficult than former operations.  

Major General Abdul Ghani al-Assadi, one of the commanders of the Special Forces, stressed that despite the dangers, west Mosul will also be retaken.

“The force left in front of us is small, unable to stop our advance. Their spirit is broken,” he said. “We have killed more than 992 fighters on our front plus more wounded … Their supplies and communications to the outside world are cut. They stage fewer suicide bombings,” he added.

According to former estimates, between 5,000 to 6,000 Daesh terrorists are still spread throughout the city. Assadi noted that the real figure may be less.

Iraqi army soldiers, backed by pro-government fighters from Popular Mobilization Units and Kurdish Peshmerga forces, launched an operation on October 17 to retake Mosul from the Daesh terrorists.

Mosul fell to Daesh two years ago, when the terror outfit began its campaign of death and destruction in northern and western Iraq.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has vowed that Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, will be fully recaptured by the end of the year.

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