Any so-called Islamic State (IS) fighters left in Mosul will die in the Iraqi city, a US envoy co-ordinating the offensive has said. Brett McGurk, the senior US official in the counter-IS coalition, issued the warning after Iraqi forces cut off the last road out of the city, trapping IS fighters inside. The jihadists have … Read more
An Iraqi Army helicopter fires a missile at ISIS positions as government forces seeking to retake Mosul said they had cut the last road out of the city, trapping hundreds of jihadists inside. The Baghdad regime recaptured east Mosul earlier this year and are now battling to retake the western side of the Euphrates river … Read more
Iraqi forces have retaken more than a third of west Mosul from the Islamic State group, a commander said, as Baghdad’s troops fought Sunday to advance deeper into the city. Iraqi forces launched the operation to recapture west Mosul — the most populated urban area still under IS control — on February 19, retaking a … Read more
Iraqi security forces have retaken more than a third of west Mosul from the Islamic State group since launching an assault on the area last month, a commander said Sunday. “Around more than a third of the right bank (west Mosul) is under the control of our units,” Staff Major General Maan al-Saadi told AFP. … Read more
Iraqi special forces battled the Islamic State group on Friday in west Mosul, where a commander said jihadist resistance is showing signs of weakening under repeated assaults. The jihadists are also facing simultaneous offensives in Syria by government forces, Turkish-backed rebels and a US-supported alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters, piling more pressure on IS. … Read more
Islamic State group chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is reported to have abandoned Mosul, leaving local commanders behind to lead the battle against Iraqi forces advancing in the city. With Iraqi troops making steady progress in their assault to retake Mosul from the jihadists, a US defence official said Baghdadi had fled to avoid being trapped … Read more
Iraq announced on Tuesday that its forces have retaken the provincial government headquarters and a second bridgehead from the Islamic State group in west Mosul. The operation to retake west Mosul — IS’s largest remaining urban stronghold — was launched on February 19, but the advance had slowed in the face of several days of … Read more
Iraqi soldiers manoeuvre sections of floating bridge on a muddy, man-made lake as American trainers instruct them in skills that have played a key role in the war against jihadists. Green metal boats churn a frothy wake as they propel the sections before the Iraqi forces connect them together during the training at the Taji … Read more
Iraqi security forces advanced Monday towards a compound of jihadist-held government buildings and a bridgehead, on the second day of a renewed push in west Mosul, officers said. The operation to retake west Mosul, the largest urban population centre still in the hands of the Islamic State group, began on February 19, but had slowed … Read more
A mother-of-two sobs as she carries her young son down a street in war-torn Mosul following heavy clashes today between the Iraqi Army and ISIS. Iraqi forces have taken more territory in the west of the city from the jihadists as the number of people fleeing the city reaches 45,000. Since launching an offensive on … Read more
Iraqi security forces attacked four jihadist-held neighbourhoods in west Mosul on Sunday, including one that houses provincial government offices, the military said. Iraqi forces launched a major operation to recapture west Mosul, the largest population centre still held by the Islamic State group, on February 19, pushing into the area from the south. They have … Read more
An Iraqi minister on Saturday sharply criticised UN efforts to aid civilians fleeing fighting in west Mosul, even as the United Nations insisted that providing such assistance was the “top priority”. Tens of thousands of people have fled west Mosul since Iraqi forces launched an operation to retake it from the Islamic State jihadist group … Read more
Between 12,000 and 15,000 Islamic State fighters remain in Iraq and Syria, a top US general said Wednesday, an indication of a significant dwindling of the jihadists’ forces. The US military only provides periodic updates on estimates of IS fighters but in 2015 and 2016, the Pentagon put the number at between 20,000 and 30,000 … Read more
Twenty-six thousand Iraqis fled west Mosul in the 10 days since security forces launched a major push to retake it from jihadists, the minister of displacement and migration said Wednesday. Jassem Mohammed al-Jaff announced that field teams received “26,000 displaced people from (west) Mosul during the past 10 days,” a statement from the ministry said. … Read more
Several hundred civilians fled through the desert on Tuesday to escape fighting against jihadists in the Mosul area, reaching an Iraqi position south of the embattled city. At least 16,000 people have been displaced since Iraqi forces launched a push to recapture west Mosul from the Islamic State group on February 19, according to the … Read more
Iraqi forces battling the Islamic State group in west Mosul reached the city’s southernmost bridge Monday, a key step in efforts to defeat the jihadists in their stronghold, a spokesman said. “The Rapid Response force and the federal police have liberated Jawsaq neighbourhood and now control the western end of the fourth bridge,” Brigadier General … Read more
A female reporter working for Iraqi Kurdish channel Rudaw was killed by the explosion of a roadside bomb Saturday during fighting between government forces and jihadists in Mosul, her channel said. “Prominent Rudaw war reporter and journalist Shifa Gardi has been killed in Mosul as she covered clashes,” Rudaw said on social media. “Journalism remains … Read more
Islamic State jihadists are forcing children and disabled people into explosives-laden trucks and making them drive at Iraqi security forces in Mosul, a general from the US-led coalition has said. The barbaric tactic, coupled with other increasingly desperate battlefield measures, is a sign the IS group knows defeat is inevitable, officials say. The jihadists have … Read more
US forces have been shot at and returned fire in the battle for the Iraqi city of Mosul, a coalition official acknowledged Wednesday, as American troops edge closer to the front lines. The United States currently has about 450 military advisers, most of them special operations forces, supporting Iraqi partners as they try to oust … Read more
Iraqi forces readied on Wednesday for an assault on Mosul airport after blitzing jihadist positions in a renewed offensive to retake the Islamic State group’s emblematic stronghold. Elite forces reinforced positions that were taken since a fresh push south of Mosul was launched on Sunday while hundreds of civilians fled newly recaptured villages. “Around 480 … Read more