Battle for ‘Mosul Old City’ underway as Iraqi forces advancing
Iraqi forces have begun an operation on Mosul’s Old City as they press their battle to retake the rest of the northern city from the terror group Daesh (ISIS/ISIL).
A high-ranking Iraqi security commander told Press-TV that government forces have made territorial gains in the western part of Mosul.
The UN says as many as 100,000 civilians are believed to be trapped in the densely populated Old City.
Bruno Geddo, the UN refugee agency’s representative in Iraq, said ISIL had been capturing civilians and forcing them into the Old City.
“We know that ISIS moved them with them as they left … locations where the fighting was going on,” Geddo said in Geneva, using a different acronym for Daesh.
The campaign to liberate Mosul entered its ninth month on Saturday and if the forces succeed in driving out the militant group from the city it will effectively spell the end of the caliphate in Iraq.
As the fight began at dawn, security forces broadcast a message to residents of the old city over loudspeakers: “The security forces are advancing toward you and the salvation hour is near, and the enemy is losing its positions one after another, and their end is near.”
The message continued, asking civilians to flee toward security forces: “Come toward your brothers, your armed forces, and you will find the proper care.”
