Iraqi MoD: Daesh Caliphate Collapses as National Forces Recapture Iconic Mosque in Old Mosul
Local Editor
The Iraqi Ministry of Defense announced Thursday that Daesh [the Arabic acronym for the Takfiri ‘ISIS/ISIL' group] terrorists have been eliminated or knocked out of all districts of the city of Mosul as the Iraqi army recaptured the venue of the iconic Grand al-Nuri Mosque in Mosul.
Hence, the country's state TV implied the liberation of the city, which has been under Daesh control since 2014.
The Iraqi military announced the news on Thursday as it continues to gain more advances in Mosul's Old City.
Shortly after the announcement, the Iraqi state television reported the fall of the "mythical state," in reference to Daesh's so-called caliphate.
Daesh extremists late on June 21 blew up the Grand al-Nuri Mosque and its Hadba [Hunchback] minaret.
Iraqi authorities and officials from the US-led coalition purportedly fighting Daesh terrorists said the destruction of the site is a sign of the extremists' imminent loss of Mosul.
The Iraqi army forces besieged the last Daesh positions in the southern areas of Old Mosul and they expect to purge the area of the terrorists by the next few days.
Meanwhile, the Iraqi government forces are nearing the end of their eight-month campaign to capture the de-facto capital of Daesh in Iraq.
The media bureau of the Iraqi Joint Operations Command announced in a statement on Wednesday that army troopers had established full control over Hadarat al-Saada and al-Ahmadiyya neighborhoods northwest of Grand al-Nuri Mosque, where purported Daesh ringleader Ibrahim al-Samarrai aka Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi announced the formation of the group's so-called caliphate back in 2014.
Earlier on Wednesday, Federal Police Forces Commander Lieutenant General Shaker Jawdat said security forces were moving through al-Farouq district and advancing towards Bab al-Toub, Serjkhana, Bab al-Jadid and Bab al-Lakash areas in the heart of Mosul's Old City.
He revealed that government troops were in control of more than 70 percent of Daesh's last bastion in Mosul.
Jawdat noted that army troops were engaged in fierce battles with an estimated 300 Daesh militants in the Old City.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
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