DAMASCUS, SYRIA (10:50 P.M.) – This evening in Mosul, the Iraqi Armed Forces liberated the Al-Nasr district and virtually expelled ISIS militants from the neighboring Al-Tanak neighborhood. In addition, the Al-Thawra district was recaptured in the morning hours following an ISIS counter-attack yesterday.
Spearheading the western Mosul operation were the Counter-Terrorism Units while the Rapid Response Division and Iraqi Federal Police provided tactical support.
Remarkably, nearly 100 ISIS insurgents have been neutralized across the Nineveh and Anbar governorates over the past 24 hours, a military source told Al-Masdar News. Tens more were captured alive, including those in the above image.
Meanwhile, Amaq Agency claimed that 51 civilians were killed and 55 wounded on Wednesday across residential areas of Mosul city largely due to US airstrikes.
Haidar Al-Abadi, Prime Minister of Iraq, also arrived in Mosul yesterday to boost moral among Iraqi government troops and inspect the frontlines of the northern city.
Around 90% of Mosul is liberated at the moment while an estimated 1,000 ISIS militants remain bogged down inside the northwestern sector of the city.
Counter-insurgency efforts are especially though around the Old City district, neighboring the Tigris River, as ISIS sniper nests, booby traps and narrow streets are proving too much to hand handle for even the most fearsome Iraqi shock troops.
Effectively, the Iraqi High Command has settled for an encirclement strategy instead, aiming to wrestle the infamous Al-Nouri mosque from ISIS militants.
Given the current rate of advance, Mosul will likely be liberated within a few weeks.
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