Just in:
TUMI Hosts Global Launch Event in Singapore to Unveil Women’s Asra Collection and Announce Global Ambassador, Mun Ka Young // Lisboeta Macau’s world first LINE FRIENDS PRESENTS CASA DE AMIGO and BROWN & FRIENDS CAFE & BISTRO has officially opened // Hope for Respite as UAE Endorses UN Plea for Gaza Truce // Superland Announced Annual Results for 2023, 2023 Net Profit Increased approximately 39.5% to approximately HK$22.2 million as Compared to the 2022 Adjusted One // First-Ever Fortune Innovation Forum Draws Top Global Leaders to Hong Kong, Promoting Agendas On Collective Cross-Sector Advancement // Infineon and HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering jointly develop ship electrification technology // AI Boost for Galaxy Devices: Samsung Expands One UI 6.1 Update // Renewables Surge Sets Record, But Global Equity Lags // U.S. Compliance Takes Center Stage at OKX Following Industry Jitters // AIA Hong Kong Wins More Than 20 Accolades at MPF Ratings MPF Awards, BENCHMARK MPF of The Year Awards and Bloomberg Businessweek Top Fund Awards // Meta Earth Official Website Launch: The Pioneer Explorer in the Modular Public Blockchain Domain // Universal Language for Healthcare: General Authority Embraces Global Coding System // Samsung Partners National Heritage Board to Bring a Slice of Singapore’s Cultural Heritage to Samsung The Frame TV // 2024 Lok Sabha Elections Will Be The Costliest One Till Now In The Whole World // Sharjah Chamber Breaks Ground on Final Expansion with New HQ Pact // German Job Market Resilience Bodes Well for Economic Recovery // No running of govt from jail, says Delhi Lt Governor // Following the Money Trail: US and UK Investigate $20 Billion in USDT Transfers Tied to Sanctioned Russian Exchange // Emirati Aid Reaches Ukraine as Food Shortages Bite // Andertoons by Mark Anderson for Thu, 28 Mar 2024 //
HomeWorldIraqi forces face Islamic State car bombs, fierce resistance in south Mosul

Iraqi forces face Islamic State car bombs, fierce resistance in south Mosul

By Stephen Kalin
| NEAR MOSUL, Iraq

ADVERTISEMENT

NEAR MOSUL, Iraq Iraqi forces faced car bombs and fierce resistance from Islamic State militants in southern Mosul on Friday, the second day of a renewed push to take back the city after fighting stalled for several weeks.

An officer in the federal police forces, which joined the battle on Thursday, said there were heavy clashes in the southeastern Palestine district, but they had made progress in two other neighbourhoods, disabling a number of car bombs.

Another officer, from an elite Interior Ministry unit fighting alongside federal police, said his forces were gaining ground in the Intisar district despite heavy clashes there.

Other officers said Iraqi forces in the east and north of the city were clearing areas they had recaptured on Thursday before advancing any further, and the army was trying to cut supply lines to the town of Tel Keyf, north of Mosul.

Since the offensive began 10 weeks ago, U.S.-backed forces have retaken a quarter of the jihadists’ last major stronghold in Iraq in the biggest ground operation there since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.

Recapturing Mosul would probably spell the end for Islamic State’s self-styled caliphate, and Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has said the group would be driven out of Iraq by April.

Elite forces pushed into Mosul from the east in October but regular army troops tasked with advancing from the north and south made slower progress and the operation stagnated.

After regrouping this month, Iraqi forces advanced on Thursday on the south, north and east of the city, which has been under Islamic State control for more than two years.

Although the militants are vastly outnumbered, they have embedded themselves among Mosul residents, hindering Iraqi forces who are trying to avoid civilian casualties. Despite food and water shortages, most civilians have stayed in their homes rather than fleeing as had been expected.

On the nothern front, Iraqi forces have yet to enter Mosul itself but on Friday they were clearing just-recaptured areas on its periphery as well as trying to cut off Tel Keyf.

“The enemy had occupied this area and used it for resting and resupplying towards Tel Keyf and Mosul,” Major General Najm al-Jubbouri, a top commander in the offensive told Reuters in the northern district of Sada, which was recaptured on Thursday.

“It (Tel Keyf) is surrounded from the other sides and by our forces here,” he said.

Jubbouri said the U.S.-led coalition backing Iraqi forces had killed 70 militants since late on Thursday and were using Apache helicopters, HIMARS rocket launchers and fighter jets.

Iraqi forces have taken around half of the eastern side of Mosul, which is bisected by the Tigris river, but have yet to enter the western side, where 2,000-year-old markets and narrow alleyways are likely to complicate any advance.

Coalition forces bombed the last remaining bridge connecting east and west Mosul late on Monday in a bid to block Islamic State’s access across the Tigris River.

A medical source in Mosul told Reuters a large number of wounded militants had been ferried across the river to the emergency hospital on the western side of city on Thursday.

The source said the militants were denying wounded and sick civilians access to the hospital.

(Additional reporting by Saif Hameed; Writing by Isabel Coles; Editing by Louise Ireland)

-Reuters

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT
Just in:
Ingdan Announces 2023 Annual Results // Following the Money Trail: US and UK Investigate $20 Billion in USDT Transfers Tied to Sanctioned Russian Exchange // No running of govt from jail, says Delhi Lt Governor // Emirates Post Speeds Up Deliveries for GCC with Special Day // German Job Market Resilience Bodes Well for Economic Recovery // Experience Ultimate Shopping Freedom at 4.4 Shopee Spree: Don’t Worry, Shop Shopee! // Ajman Celebrates Conclusion of Ramadan Activities with Grand Ceremony // US reiterates concern over Kejriwal arrest, Cong accounts // Global Audience to Witness Thrill of Dubai World Cup // U.S. Compliance Takes Center Stage at OKX Following Industry Jitters // Sharpening the Focus: Sharjah Health Department Refines Evaluation Criteria for “Healthy Schools Programme” // Sharjah Chamber Breaks Ground on Final Expansion with New HQ Pact // Hope for Respite as UAE Endorses UN Plea for Gaza Truce // 2024 Lok Sabha Elections Will Be The Costliest One Till Now In The Whole World // AI Boost for Galaxy Devices: Samsung Expands One UI 6.1 Update // Superland Announced Annual Results for 2023, 2023 Net Profit Increased approximately 39.5% to approximately HK$22.2 million as Compared to the 2022 Adjusted One // Konica Minolta is named ASEAN 2023 Market Leader in Colour Light and Mid Digital Production Printers // AIA Hong Kong Wins More Than 20 Accolades at MPF Ratings MPF Awards, BENCHMARK MPF of The Year Awards and Bloomberg Businessweek Top Fund Awards // TUMI Hosts Global Launch Event in Singapore to Unveil Women’s Asra Collection and Announce Global Ambassador, Mun Ka Young // Meta Earth Official Website Launch: The Pioneer Explorer in the Modular Public Blockchain Domain //