Just in:
UAE Authority Rejects Claims of Lifetime Golden Visa // Parsons to Steer Dubai Metro Blue Line Rollout // Why Al Mahra Resort on Al Marjan Island Is the Smartest Investment in UAE Real Estate // Grok Unleashes Antisemitic Rant, Praises Hitler on X // XI BRICS no show: Strategic shift or silent warning? // Election Commission Violates Its Core Constitutional Responsibility, Acts Whimsically // Jurassic World: The Experience Roars Into Bangkok – 8 August 2025 At Asiatique The Riverfront Destination // Now an AI Agent that Crafts AI Agents // Printbelle Unveils High-Speed POD Hub to Power Next-Gen E-Commerce Growth // Iran’s Oil Surge Defies Conflict and Sanctions // PROPEL with Singlife Wins Prestigious ‘Insurtech Initiative of the Year’ at the 10th Insurance Asia Awards // Rhenus 4PL Solutions Brings Digital Logistics Expertise Support To The Circular Economy Initiative Of Looper Textile Co. And REMONDIS // Boutique Dining Giant Tashas Accelerates Global Roll‑Out // ISCA and SHICPA Sign MOU to Strengthen Support for Accountancy Professionals and Firms in Shanghai // Golden Gateway Opens to India for UAE’s 10‑Year Residency // What Should You Look Out for While Searching for the Best Creative Agency in Dubai? // European Luxury Faces China Demand Dip, Seeks New Growth Drivers // Proscenic Launches Major Prime Day 2025 Sale with Up to 40% Off Best-Selling Vacuums Starting at €89 // Affordable Birthday Bouquet Options Under AED 150 // Bitcoin Supply on Exchanges Drops to Multi‑Year Low //

ISIL ‘on brink of defeat’ after losing 90% of west Mosul: officials – Culture & Society

1494994413 GettyImages 683785768

Iraqi forces have recaptured nearly 90 percent of west Mosul from the ISIL and jihadists in the city are on the “brink of total defeat,” military spokesmen said Tuesday.

ADVERTISEMENT

Iraqi forces launched the massive operation to retake Mosul from ISIL nearly seven months ago, fighting their way to the jihadist-held city, retaking its eastern side and then attacking the west.

Brigadier General Yahya Rasool, spokesman for Iraq’s Joint Operations Command, told a news conference in Baghdad that ISIL now controls just over 10 percent of west Mosul.

Colonel John Dorrian, the spokesman for the US-led international coalition against ISIL, said that the end was near for jihadists in the city.

“The enemy is completely surrounded,” Dorrian told the news conference. “The enemy is on the brink of total defeat in Mosul.”

The drive to retake Mosul has been supported by a campaign of coalition air strikes in and around the city.

“More than 300 vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices (car bombs) have been destroyed by coalition strikes in Mosul,” Dorrian said.

“Our strikes have also destroyed more than 200 Daesh tunnels and more than 1,000 of their fighting positions,” he said, using an Arabic acronym for ISIL.

The jihadist group now controls just a handful of neighbourhoods around the Old City, one of the country’s heritage jewels.

The area’s narrow streets and closely spaced buildings make it difficult for federal forces to take on the jihadists, requiring them to fight on foot instead of from vehicles as they have previously done.

Half a million people are currently displaced as a result of the battle for Mosul, and some 250,000 civilians are estimated to still be trapped inside the city’s west.

The number of those fleeing has been on the rise, with Thursday seeing around 20,000 people fleeing west Mosul, the Norwegian Refugee Council said, in the biggest single-day displacement since the start of the operation.

The presence of a large civilian population, which either chose not to leave or was prevented from doing so by ISIL, complicates any final assault to seal victory in Mosul.

While coalition air strikes have aided the advance of Iraqi forces, they have also reportedly caused hundreds of civilian casualties in the city.

Human shields have become a central feature of the vastly outnumbered jihadists’ defences, and ISIL has stopped at nothing to deter people from escaping the city, including killing people who seek to flee.

Trapped residents reached by AFP inside ISIL-held areas have also recently warned that hunger was starting to kill more people than the fighting.

In eastern Mosul, life returned to a semblance of normality fairly quickly after Iraqi forces drove the jihadists back neighbourhood by neighbourhood until the area was fully recaptured earlier this year.

ISIL overran large areas north and west of Baghdad in 2014, but Iraqi forces backed by US-led air strikes have since retaken much of the territory they lost to the jihadists.

Source link


Notice an issue?

Arabian Post strives to deliver the most accurate and reliable information to its readers. If you believe you have identified an error or inconsistency in this article, please don't hesitate to contact our editorial team at editor[at]thearabianpost[dot]com. We are committed to promptly addressing any concerns and ensuring the highest level of journalistic integrity.


ADVERTISEMENT