Iraqi forces renewed their assault Monday against jihadists in Mosul’s Old City, after days in which the battle was overshadowed by reports of heavy civilian casualties from air strikes. Iraqi forces began the massive operation to retake west Mosul from the Islamic State (IS) group last month and have recaptured a series of neighbourhoods, but … Read more
Iraq has deployed snipers to target jihadists using civilians as human shields in Mosul, as it investigates air strikes that reportedly killed large numbers of residents in the city, the military said Sunday. Hundreds of thousands of civilians are still trapped in Mosul, caught between advancing Iraqi forces and the Islamic State group jihadists that … Read more
Coalition says it struck area in west Mosul where officials say scores of civilians were killed by aerial bombardment. The US-led coalition bombing ISIL positions in Iraq has admitted that it carried out air raids last week at a location in west Mosul where officials and residents say scores of civilians were killed. The acknowledgement … Read more
The US-led coalition against the Islamic State group said Saturday that it struck a location in west Mosul where civilians were reportedly killed by aerial bombing. “An initial review of strike data… indicates that, at the request of the Iraqi security forces, the coalition struck (IS) fighters and equipment, March 17, in west Mosul at … Read more
Air strikes have killed dozens of civilians in west Mosul in recent days, officials said Saturday, as the number of people fleeing fighting against jihadists in the area topped 200,000. Hundreds of thousands more are still in danger inside the city, where Iraqi forces have recaptured a series of neighbourhoods since the operation to retake … Read more
Air strikes carried out in recent days have killed dozens of civilians in west Mosul, where Iraqi forces are battling jihadists, officials said on Saturday. Both Iraqi aircraft and a US-led international coalition are bombing the Islamic State group in the Mosul area. “There are dozens of bodies still under the rubble,” Bashar al-Kiki, the … Read more
Smoke rises from a neighbourhood in west Mosul, during an offensive by the Iraqi forces to retake the city from Islamic State (IS) group fighters on March 24, 2017 Air strikes carried out in recent days have killed dozens of civilians in west Mosul, where Iraqi forces are battling jihadists, officials said on Saturday. Bashar … Read more
More than 200,000 people have fled fighting in west Mosul since the operation to retake the area from jihadists was launched last month, Iraq’s ministry of migration and displaced said Saturday. The battle for west Mosul — the most populated urban area still held by the Islamic State group — was launched on February 19, … Read more
Thousands of people are fleeing the Iraqi city of Mosul, held by the so-called Islamic State (IS) group, in fear of US-led air strikes and fierce fighting by Iraqi ground troops. Dozens of people were reported buried in wreckage after an air strike in western Mosul earlier in the week. Other residents say IS is … Read more
The United Nations has raised grave concerns about reports of high civilian casualties in the Iraqi city of Mosul. A senior UN official in Iraq said she was stunned by accounts of “terrible loss of life”, after claims that at least 200 people had been killed in an air strike by the US-led coalition. US … Read more
About 600,000 people remain in the areas of west Mosul held by the Islamic State group, including 400,000 who are “trapped” in the Old City under siege-like conditions, the UN said Thursday. “They are desperate for food. They are panicked,” Bruno Geddo, who represents the UN refugee agency in Iraq, told reporters in Geneva by … Read more
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson declared Wednesday that Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s death is imminent, as US-backed forces close in on the jihadists in Syria and Iraq. “Nearly all of Abu Bakr Baghdadi’s deputies are now dead, including the mastermind behind the attacks in Brussels, Paris and elsewhere,” Tillerson told a coalition … Read more
Iraqi forces gained ground from the Islamic State group in Mosul and have deployed snipers in the Old City to target the jihadists, officers said on Tuesday. Iraqi forces launched a major operation to recapture west Mosul — the most-populated urban area still held by IS — on February 19, and have retaken a series … Read more
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi left for Washington on Sunday to meet President Donald Trump as his forces press an assault to recapture west Mosul from the Islamic State jihadist group. The premier’s office said Abadi would also meet Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, without giving specific dates. On Wednesday, … Read more
Iraqi forces backed by helicopter strikes engaged in heavy fighting with jihadists on the outskirts of the Old City on Sunday as they pressed an offensive to recapture west Mosul. The elite Rapid Response Force and Iraqi federal police attacked the Islamic State group militants with rifles, machineguns, mortar rounds and rockets a month after … Read more
Elite Iraqi forces said they were battling house by house in the Old City of Mosul on Saturday, inching towards the mosque where the Islamic State group proclaimed its “caliphate” in 2014. Iraq began an operation on February 19 to retake west Mosul, which is the last major Islamic State group urban bastion in the … Read more
Iraqi forces said Tuesday that they recaptured Mosul’s train station, once one of the country’s main rail hubs and the latest in a series of key sites retaken from jihadists. The forces launched a major push last month to oust the Islamic State group from west Mosul, taking back a series of neighbourhoods as well … Read more
Iraqi forces said Tuesday that they recaptured Mosul’s train station, which has not been operational since jihadists siezed the city but was once one of the country’s main rail hubs. Iraqi forces launched a major push to retake west Mosul from the Islamic State group last month, advancing in to the area from the south … Read more
A sea of tents stretches to the horizon at a camp for displaced near Mosul but Ahmed Hassan says he and 17 relatives have to sleep outside because there is no room. Tens of thousands of civilians have poured into camps set up around Mosul as Iraqi forces battle to retake the city from Islamic … Read more
Iraq’s interior ministry is holding over 1,200 men and boys suspected of ties to jihadists in “horrendous conditions” without charge at facilities south of Mosul, Human Rights Watch said Tuesday. Iraqi forces are fighting to retake second city Mosul from the Islamic State jihadist group, recapturing its east before setting their sights on the smaller … Read more