Iraqi Army Aims to Oust IS from Western Mosul in a Month

Basnews English

10/03/2017
- 01:22




MOSUL — Iraqi forces aim to defeat and oust Islamic State (IS) militants in Mosul within one month, said the head of the elite Counter Terrorism Service on Thursday.

"Despite the tough fighting... we are moving ahead in persistence to finish the battle for the western side within a month," Lieutenant General Talib Shaghati told Reuters.

The Iraqi government forces, backed by the US-led coalition airpower, are currently advancing into the western neighborhoods of Mosul, a major city in northern Iraq where was once considered the extremis group’s most strategic stronghold in Iraq.

Despite making rapid territorial grounds, the Iraqi troops are facing fierce resistance by IS insurgents who struggle to maintain control over the densely-populated western Mosul.

Mosul operation was launched on October 17th last year. After more than three months, the entire eastern neighborhoods of the city were liberated.

Earlier in February, the Iraqi troops launched a new phase of the assault, aiming at western bank of Tigris river which crosses through the center of Mosul.

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