30% of Mosul's Shifa Neighborhood Controlled



Iraqi forces on Friday retook 30% of the last district held by Islamic State (IS) militants in the historic part of Mosul, the Old City, the Federal Police chief said.

Lt. Gen. Shakir Jawdat said the Federal Police forces took over 30% of al-Shifa neighborhood to the north of the Old City.

He added the Islamic jihadists who hide inside booby-trapped alleyways in al-Shifa and Bab al-Toub neighborhoods shoot Iraqi forces from inside the houses and the troops respond by firing artillery and rocket.

Jawdat said the forces also continue to evacuate dozens of civilians from the battleground.

On Friday, the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR's representative in Iraq, Bruno Geddo, said that at least 100,000 civilians are still held by IS militants in the Old City.

The vulnerable people who are deprived of basic services and suffer from penury and panic are used as human shields by the militants and those who attempt to flee on foot or on boat are shot by the IS fighters, UNHCR official said.

Iraqi government forces, backed by a U.S.-led coalition and paramilitary troops, regained control over eastern Mosul in January but their progress in the western part of the city is slow due to the narrow alleyways in the area.

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