Saudi Ministry of Education to showcase innovations at 2025 Geneva International Exhibition    7,523 violators of residency, labor, and border security laws deported in a week    Video contradicts Israeli army account of deadly March 23 strike on Gaza paramedics    Saudi Arabia spends over $241 million to implement de-mining projects in 3 countries    Italy's Meloni government approves controversial security decree expanding police protections and penalties    Egypt submits new Gaza ceasefire and prisoner exchange proposal: Report    'Everything is possible' — Ronaldo focused on titles, not 1,000-goal milestone after Riyadh Derby win    Saudi, US military leaders discuss enhanced defense cooperation in Riyadh    King Salman Global Academy for Arabic Language launches program with Indiana University    Ronaldo brace powers Al Nassr past Al Hilal in Riyadh derby thriller    Ed Sheeran weaves Persian music into new song, Azizam    Al-Jadaan: Crown Prince's directives confirm government's ability to bring back balance to real estate market    Veteran Bollywood actor Manoj Kumar dies at 87    Foreign investors are allowed to engage in real estate business outside Makkah and Madinah Commercial speculation should not be the purpose of real estate transaction    Aubameyang fires Al Qadsiah into King's Cup final with stoppage-time winner over Al Raed    Musk's X is suing India, as Tesla and Starlink plan entry    Tesla sales plunge after backlash against Elon Musk    Danilo Pereira fires Al Ittihad into King's Cup final with dramatic stoppage-time double    Screen time in bed linked to insomnia, study finds    Mexico bans junk food in schools to fight childhood obesity epidemic    Sweet sales surge ahead of Eid as Saudi chocolate imports top 123 million kg in 2024    Bollywood actress vindicated over boyfriend's death after media hounding    Grand Mufti rules against posting prayers and preaching in mosques on social media    King Salman prays for peace and stability for Palestinians in Ramadan message King reaffirms Saudi Arabia's commitment to serving the Two Holy Mosques and pilgrims    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Mosul battle to end in days as troops advance in Old City — Iraqi general
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 27 - 06 - 2017

The battle to wrest full control of the Iraqi city of Mosul from Daesh (so-called IS) will be over in a few days, the Iraqi military said on Monday, as elite counter-terrorism units fought militants among the narrow alleyways of the historic Old City.
An attempted fight-back by militants failed on Sunday night and Daesh's grip on the city, once its de facto capital in Iraq, was weakened, a senior commander said. "Only a small part (of the militants) remains in the city, specifically the Old City," Lt. Gen. Abdul Ghani Al-Assadi, commander of the Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) in Mosul, told Reuters.
"From a military perspective, Daesh is finished," Assadi said. "It has lost its fighting spirit and its balance. We are making calls to them to surrender or die."
As CTS units battled militants in the densely-populated maze of tiny streets of the Old City, which lies by the western bank of the Tigris river, Assadi said the area under Daesh control in Mosul was now less than two sq kms. Mosul will fall "in very few days, God willing," he added.
Up to 350 militants are estimated by the Iraqi military to be besieged in the Old City, dug in among civilians in crumbling houses and making extensive use of booby traps, suicide bombers and sniper fire to slow down the advance of Iraqi troops.
More than 50,000 civilians, about half the Old City's population, remain trapped behind Daesh lines with little food, water or medicines, according to those who escaped.
A US-led international coalition is providing air and ground support in the eight-month-old offensive.
The militants last week destroyed the historic Grand Al-Nuri Mosque and its leaning minaret from which their leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared a caliphate spanning parts of Iraq and Syria three years ago. The mosque's grounds remain under the militants' control.
Iraqi troops captured the neighborhood of Al-Faruq in the northwestern side of the Old City facing the mosque, the military said on Monday.
Iraqi forces took the eastern side of Mosul from Daesh in January, after 100 days of fighting, and started attacking the western side in February. Assadi said Iraqi forces had linked up along Al-Faruq, a main street bisecting the Old City, and would start pushing east, toward the river. "It will be the final episode," he said.
Aid organizations say Daesh has stopped many civilians from leaving, using them as human shields. Hundreds of civilians fleeing the Old City have been killed in the past three weeks. Daesh has carried out sporadic suicide bombings in parts of Mosul using sleeper cells. It launched a wave of such attacks late on Sunday, trying to take control of a district west of the Old City, Hay Al-Tanak, and the nearby Yarmuk neighborhood.
Assadi said an attempt by the militants to take over the neighborhoods had failed and they were now besieged in one or two pockets of Hay Al-Tanak. Security forces were searching the two neighborhoods house to house, as a curfew was still in force over parts of western Mosul, witnesses said.
Social media carried posts showing black smoke and reports that it came from houses and cars set alight by the militants. Some of the residents who had fled the fighting returned to areas where the curfew was partially lifted, witnesses said.
The authorities did not confirm a report on Mosul Eye, an anonymous blogger who supplied information on the city during the militants' rule, that 12 civilians had been killed in the attacks.
The fall of Mosul would mark the end of the Iraqi half of the "caliphate", but Daesh remains in control of large areas of both Iraq and Syria.
Daesh's Baghdadi has left the fighting in Mosul to local commanders and is assumed to be hiding in the Iraqi-Syrian border area. There has been no confirmation of Russian reports over the past days that he has been killed.
In Syria, the insurgents' "capital" Raqqa, is nearly encircled by a US-backed, Kurdish-led coalition. — Reuters


Clic here to read the story from its source.