iraq eyes recapture of east mosul
Last Updated : GMT 09:07:40
Egypt Today, egypt today
Egypt Today, egypt today
Last Updated : GMT 09:07:40
Egypt Today, egypt today

Within days

Iraq eyes recapture of east Mosul

Egypt Today, egypt today

Egypt Today, egypt today Iraq eyes recapture of east Mosul

Iraqi special forces advance through Mosul's Al-Zahraa neighbourhood
Baghdad - Arab Today

Iraqi forces will retake east Mosul from the jihadists within days, a top commander said Monday, after his fighters in the city reached the Tigris River for the first time.

Baghdad's forces have retaken a series of areas in eastern Mosul since launching an operation to recapture the city from the Islamic State group on October 17, but the west remains under IS control.

East Mosul will be retaken within "a few days, God willing," Staff Lieutenant General Abdulghani al-Assadi, a top commander in Iraq's elite Counter-Terrorism Service, told AFP.

Assadi's remarks came a day after officials said Iraqi forces in Mosul had reached the eastern side of a bridge across the Tigris River, which divides the city, for the first time during the operation.

Assadi said that "the bridge fell tactically," though Iraqi forces were still some 150 metres (yards) away.

The general also said that "our units... are close to encircling Mosul University," whose sprawling campus is located east of the Tigris.

IS overran Mosul and swathes of other territory north and west of Baghdad in 2014, sweeping aside security forces that were ill-prepared to face the assault.

Tens of thousands of Iraqi forces launched an offensive on October 17 to retake Mosul, the last major urban centre in Iraq still controlled by the group that seized around a third of the country in 2014.

Several areas around the city, Iraq's second largest, were swiftly reconquered, but the elite forces that pushed into the streets of Mosul itself have faced stiffer than expected resistance.

In late December, the federal advance inside the city had slowed to a crawl but a fresh coordination effort between CTS and other forces gave fresh impetus to the operation.

- No escape -

Iraqi forces, backed by increased support from the US-led coalition that has carried out the bulk of air strikes against IS and deployed military advisers on the ground, made rapid progress since the start of 2017.

"It's pretty excellent progress that they've made over the last couple of weeks, since they restarted the operation on the 29th" of December, coalition spokesman Colonel John Dorrian said.

"They have synchronised three axes of advance... and that's more than the enemy can solve," he said, referring to elite interior ministry and other forces also operating inside Mosul.

Dorrian said that CTS's foray to the Tigris had more than just symbolic value for the 12-week-old operation to retake Mosul.

"The Tigris -- that's a natural landmark and a barrier that the enemy would have to navigate to either escape or reinforce," he said.

"It's important because it stops the enemy from being able to resupply," Dorrian said.

"It also cuts off avenues of escape for the remaining enemy... it doesn't make it impossible but it makes it very difficult."

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi had promised that his forces would rid the country of IS by the end of 2016 but he admitted a few days ago that it could still take several more months.

Beyond the timetable, exactly which troops among the myriad forces involved in the operation retake the city from IS will have a major impact on the future of Mosul and relations between Iraq and its neighbours.

Two days after landmark talks with his Turkish counterpart aimed at patching up frosty relations, Abadi on Monday met Jordanian Prime Minister Hani Mulki in Baghdad.

Sour: AFP

egypttoday
egypttoday

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

iraq eyes recapture of east mosul iraq eyes recapture of east mosul



GMT 10:17 2018 Sunday ,30 September

Polls Open In Iraqi Kurdistan For Regional Election

GMT 07:54 2017 Friday ,07 April

Pentagon has broad military arsenal available

GMT 08:35 2017 Thursday ,23 March

Dozens dead in US-led Syria strikes

GMT 06:40 2017 Saturday ,11 March

Iraq forces advance in Mosul

GMT 13:42 2017 Tuesday ,07 March

2100 Iran fighters killed

GMT 21:06 2017 Monday ,01 May

Will Smith at all-star Jazz Day in Cuba

GMT 06:25 2017 Monday ,27 November

Bali raises volcano alert to highest level

GMT 12:45 2018 Monday ,26 November

Israeli forces close entrance of village in Ramallah

GMT 12:14 2018 Monday ,08 October

HM King congratulates Ugandan President

GMT 13:49 2017 Thursday ,17 August

Alibaba posts 94% surge in quarterly profit

GMT 08:47 2017 Saturday ,10 June

CDD responds to 236 various incidents

GMT 00:31 2015 Saturday ,16 May

Canada plans 30% CO2 emissions cut by 2030

GMT 03:31 2017 Wednesday ,22 February

‘Man-made’ climate change a major woman’s problem

GMT 10:42 2017 Thursday ,16 November

Algeria FM leaves Cairo following tripartite meeting

GMT 11:08 2017 Tuesday ,03 October

Moscow, Riyadh willing to boost cooperation
 
 Egypt Today Facebook,egypt today facebook  Egypt Today Twitter,egypt today twitter Egypt Today Rss,egypt today rss  Egypt Today Youtube,egypt today youtube  Egypt Today Youtube,egypt today youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

egypttoday egypttoday egypttoday egypttoday
egypttoday egypttoday egypttoday
egypttoday
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
egypttoday, Egypttoday, Egypttoday