Alwaght- Iraqi forces have repelled ISIS from two districts in eastern Mosul and are advancing in a third neighborhood.
Commander of Iraq’s Counter Terrorism Service (CTS) Lieutenant-General Abdul Wahab al-Saidi made the announcement on Saturday, adding that 30 terrorists were killed in the process.
He said that Iraqi forces are now fully in control of the district of al-Arbajiya and are currently halfway through purging the adjacent al-Qadisiya al-Thaniya district.
"We destroyed more than 10 suicide car bombs and killed snipers and weapons teams," Saidi said in a televised interview. "The clearing is continuing and in the coming hours, God willing, this quarter will be completely cleared," he added.
After months of preparation, Iraqi army soldiers, backed by pro-government fighters from Popular Mobilization Units and Kurdish Peshmerga forces, launched an operation on October 17 to retake the strategic city of Mosul from the ISIS terrorists.
"The biggest challenge, which is holding up the advance, is the presence of civilians ... and their use as human shields by the terrorists," added Saidi.
He noted that in some cases during the evacuation of civilians, armed militants hiding among them open fire on Iraqi troops.
"There are ISIS elements on the roofs while families are present on the ground floor -- that means we have to find a way to deal with the ISIS forces on the roofs without damaging the house or the families," he added.
ISIS resisting in south Mosul
According to military sources, Iraqi security forces are faced with fierce terrorist resistance from the militants in Mosul’s southern districts.
The sources note that the terrorists have taken up positions on the rooftops of civilian residences and are using drones to hinder the Iraqi forces progression.
ISIS is also using a network of tunnels located across the city to merge into the civilian population and surface to launch surprise attacks and ambushes on Iraqi soldiers.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has vowed that Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, will be fully recaptured by year-end.
