“Iraqi forces advanced Monday into the southern outskirts of Mosul on the second day of a push to drive Islamic State militants from the city’s western half, as the visiting USA defense secretary met with officials to discuss the fight against the extremists”, reports the Associated Press (AP).
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Prime Minister Haider al Abadi announced on television that the offensive was under way to ‘liberate the people from the terror of Daesh (IS)’.
Last month, Iraq declared eastern Mosul “fully liberated”, however, the region has seen several suicide attacks, including two suicide bombings that targetted government forces on Sunday.
Coalition aircraft have already bombed jihadist positions near the city’s IS-held airport, with Iraqi police and government forces expected to try to retake the facility.
A top army commander then announced that forces led by federal police units retook villages south of Mosul, including Athbah, which leaves them within striking distance of the airport.
Unlike the east, much of the west is composed of old houses forming narrow alleyways, making the use of armoured vehicles more hard and promising a tougher fight.
The first four months of the Iraqioffensive on Mosul were marked by relatively low displacementbut the civilians who remain in the city’s west face moredangers than ever.
The self-styled Islamic State group said two days ago that Abu-Zakariya al-Britani detonated a auto bomb at an Iraqi army base in Tal Gaysum, south-west of Mosul.
Because all five of the bridges spanning the Tigris have been bombed, Iraqi troops will trace a circuitous path to western Mosul, initially approaching it from the city’s south.
The US-led coalition that has been fighting IS in Iraq and Syria since 2014 has carried out more than 10,000 strikes and trained tens of thousands of local forces.
“Your armed forces (.) are advancing in the direction of the right side, relying on God”, read one of the leaflets, referring to the western side of the northern Iraqi city.
Islamic State was thought to have up to 6,000 fighters in Mosul when the government’s offensive started in mid-October.
They dislodged Islamic State fighters from the hilltop village of Albu Saif which overlooks the airport, reaching its “vicinity”, an Iraqi military statement said.
Iraqi security forces advance towards western Mosul on Sunday.
The United Nations estimates that between 750,000 and 800,000 civilians are living in the western half of city with limited access to supplies.
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According to OCHA, UN and humanitarian partners are rushing to prepare for the humanitarian impact of the military operation. Once Iraqi forces reach Mosul from the south, Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Forces will take over the risky street-by-street battle for Mosul.
