Battle for Mosul: Iraqis Prepare To Celebrate Victory
Local Editor
Iraqis prepared on Sunday to celebrate victory over Daesh [the Arabic acronym for the Takfiri ‘ISIS/ISIL' group] in Mosul, just blocks away from battles raging in the last few districts where the terrorists are dug in.
Troops tied white banners and Iraqi flags to lamp posts and damaged buildings including the Hadba minaret, which the terrorists blew up in June along with the adjoining Grand al-Nuri Mosque, as air strikes and mortars rained down nearby.
It was from al-Nuri's pulpit that Daesh leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi proclaimed his so-called ‘caliphate' three years ago.
Meanwhile, Iraqi authorities are planning a week of nationwide celebrations, according to a government statement, and Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi is expected to visit Mosul to formally declare victory.
Mosul's fall would mark the effective end of the Iraqi half of the caliphate which Daesh declared three years ago in parts of Iraq and Syria. The group still controls territory west and south of Mosul, where tens of thousands of civilians live.
In further details, Iraqi government forces recaptured more areas in the heart of Mosul's Old City.
Commander of Nineveh Liberation Operation Lieutenant General Abdul Amir Yarallah stated on Sunday that Iraqi Federal Police forces liberated the Makawi area of the Old City, and hoisted the national Iraqi flag over a cluster of buildings there, Arabic-language al-Sumaria television network reported.
Commander of Federal Police Forces Lieutenant General Shaker Jawdat also said security forces had completely retaken Bilal al-Habashi Mosque in Bab al-Jadid neighborhood of Mosul's Old City.
He noted that Federal Police forces were advancing from three sides, and were pursuing Daesh terrorists in the few remaining militant-held areas of the Old City.
Iraqi army soldiers and volunteer fighters from the Popular Mobilization Units, commonly known by their Arabic name, Hashd al-Sha'abi, have made sweeping gains against Daesh since launching the Mosul operation on October 17, 2016.
The Iraqi forces took control of eastern Mosul in January after 100 days of fighting, and launched the battle in the west on February 19. Iraqi authorities expect the battle to end within the next few days as the remaining Daesh elements are bottled up in a few districts of the Old City.
An estimated 862,000 people have been displaced from Mosul ever since the battle to retake the city began nine months ago. A total of 195,000 civilians have also returned, mainly to the liberated areas of eastern Mosul.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
Comments
- Related News
