Iraqi Commander: Troops push further into western Mosul

The top American commander in Iraq said earlier this month he believed USA -backed forces would recapture Islamic State’s two major strongholds – Raqqa in Syria and Mosul in Iraq – within the next six months.

As they advanced in west Mosul, troops from the interior ministry’s rapid response division said that they had moved through the southern suburb of Tayaran into Josaq district to reach the bridge.

He said: “We effectively control the road, it is in our sight”.

More than 220,000 people have fled since US -backed Iraqi forces launched an offensive to retake Mosul in October, according to the IOM.

Engineering units will be expected to deploy a so-called “ribbon bridge” across the Tigris that will allow the western side’s active front lines to be connected to the already retaken east bank.

Speaking to journalists on a visit to London, Gen Jones said it would be “tough and take time” but that he was confident the Iraqi forces would complete the job.

“The neighborhood is fully liberated”, he said.

Australian Defense Force Chief Mark Binskin likened the vehicles used by the Islamic State group against Iraqi government troops to those featured in the George Miller-directed post-apocalyptic movie franchise. “The enemy is broken”.

The United Nations has planned for an exodus of at least 250,000 people from west Mosul, but in the absence of humanitarian corridors only a few hundred have been able to flee so far.

He added that the Iraqi forces raised the national flag above several buildings in the neighborhood after inflicting heavy losses on ISIS terrorists, without elaborating.

In mid-February, Iraqi forces – backed by a US -led air coalition – began fresh operations aimed at purging remaining Daesh terrorists from Mosul’s western districts. With his men increasingly cornered in the current phase of the police and the Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) offensive to recover that locality, the head of the Islamic extremists ordered the closure of Daesh’s office which regulates its combatants.

These numbers, among the largest in weeks, are just a fraction of the 250,000 or more people who could yet be displaced from western Mosul as fighting escalates, said the mission’s Iraq press officer Hala Jaber.

The militia said ISIS is using booby-trapped animals against advancing Iraqi security forces in western Mosul.