Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Friday promised that Iraqi forces would do all they could to keep civilians safe.
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The elite Counter-Terrorism Service, which has carried out most of the fighting in the Mosul offensive, took full control of the Ghozlani military base adjacent to the airport, said senior commander Major General Sami Al Aridi.
Commanders expect the battle in western Mosul to be more hard, in part because tanks and armoured vehicles can not pass through the narrow alleyways that criss-cross ancient districts there.
The Iraqi Ministry of Defense announced on Saturday that Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) have fully liberated al-Yarmouk power station in Western Mosul.
During the offensive to retake the Mosul airport, the coalition embedded American and European advisers with forward Iraqi rapid response and special operations forces units, according to the report.
At Townsend’s next stop, a much smaller outpost also south of Mosul, American soldiers described how they try to help Iraqis defend themselves against ISIS’s deadliest battlefield weapon: mobile auto and truck bombs, which are often carefully hidden and which have been used in their hundreds.
“The attack came from several directions and killed 15 border guards, including two officers”, he said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“Clearing operations are ongoing and our forces have entered those areas”, he told Reuters on a hill overlooking the battle.
As Iraqi warplanes struck IS targets across the border, militants in northern Syria staged a suicide auto bomb attack outside a security office operated by the Syrian opposition in a village five miles (eight kilometres) north of al-Bab, killing at least 60 people.
Leaflets warning residents of an imminent offensive were earlier dropped over the west of the city.
Resistance around western Mosul is “moderate”, Davis said, with the terrorists using improvised explosive devices and indirect fire to “harass and slow down” Iraqi forces. He said all were suspected IS members, but declined to specify exactly what offences they were thought to have committed. He said the family had been living on milk and bread for the last two weeks as they were unable to go to the market.
Abu Laith, 49, said he overheard disagreements between local and foreign fighters.
“We thank you for your support to the federal police during this operation”, said Araji. (The foreigners) said, “That’s your problem”.
The terrorist killers were masked, the witness added.
In January, the Pentagon first confirmed that USA forces were at times operating inside the city of Mosul.
IRAQI GOVERNMENT forces last week launched a crucial campaign to retake the western side of Mosul, the Islamic State’s largest remaining urban stronghold.
“The Department of Defense will use the term Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, when referring to this threat”, wrote Executive Secretary Michael Bruhn, in a memo dated February 13.
A U.S. defense official told CNN earlier this month that there was a concerted effort underway at the Pentagon since Trump’s election to use ISIS more in official statements and press releases.
United Nations estimates place the number of civilians trapped in western Mosul at around 750,000. Aid groups warned on Friday that the most risky phase of the offensive was about to begin.
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More than 160,000 people have fled their homes in and around the city.
