Iraqi army forces recapture more areas from Daesh in Mosul

Iraqi government forces have regained control of more areas in the eastern and northern sides of Mosul in northern Iraq, as fierce clashes continued against the Takfiri Daesh militants in their last urban stronghold in the crisis-ridden Arab country.

The commander of Nineveh Liberation Operation, Lieutenant General Abdul Amir Yarallah, said on Friday that soldiers from the 71st Brigade of the 15th Division and the 76th Brigade of the 16th Division in the Iraqi Army had liberated al-Araby al-Oula neighborhood in eastern Mosul from Daesh grip, Arabic-language al-Sumaria television network reported..

The high-ranking Iraqi military commander went on to say that government forces had inflicted heavy losses on Daesh ranks during the operation, before they hoisted the national flag over a cluster of buildings in the area.

Earlier, Iraqi army soldiers recaptured a pharmaceutical plant on the northern outskirts of Mosul from Daesh militants.

Iraqi troopers also completely freed al-Hurra neighborhood in the northern part of Mosul, and raised the Iraqi flag on some of its buildings after heavy clashes with Daesh militants that left dozens of the terrorists killed and wounded.

Additionally, dozens of Daesh Takfiris were killed early on Friday as pro-government fighters from the Popular Mobilization Units – commonly known by the Arabic word Hashd al-Sha’abi – thwarted their offensive against al-Nazaza village close to the city of Tal Afar, located 63 kilometers west of Mosul.

An unnamed local source also said Daesh had mobilized dozens of Takfiris and sealed off large parts of al-Akab district in western Mosul in search for a senior militant commander, who had gone missing mysteriously the previous night.

Meanwhile, an elderly man and his grandson lost their lives when a Daesh unmanned aerial vehicle dropped an explosive device on  their home in the western Bab al-Toub neighborhood of Mosul.

The Iraqi Air Force also announced in a statement on Friday that its fighter jets had killed 59 Daesh terrorists and destroyed eight explosive-laden vehicles during a series of airstrikes across Mosul.

Furthermore, the Iraqi Joint Operations Command (JOC) stated that government forces are trying to liberate the last four remaining neighborhoods of al-Rashidiya, Baisan, al-Araby and Ghabat in eastern Mosul.

The JOC statement put the number of liberated eastern Mosul neighborhoods at 61 out of the entire 65.

The commander of Mosul Operations, Major General Najm al Jabouri, also said US-led military aircraft had targeted 21 Daesh boats in al-Rashidiya district northeast of Mosul as the slain terrorists were fleeing across the Tigris river.

Iraqi army soldiers, supported by Hashd al-Sha’abi fighters and Kurdish Peshmerga forces, launched a joint operation on October 17, 2016 to retake Mosul from Daesh terrorists.

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