Iraqi troopS expel daeSh militantS from moSul univ

BAGHDAD: Iraqi counter-terrorism forces on Saturday liberated the campus of the University of Mosul and drove out Islamic State militants, according to military sources. Major General Fadhil al-Barwari, commander of an Iraqi counter-terrorism unit, told Efe news that his forces had fully freed Iraq’s second largest university. The troops stormed the campus on Friday from both the south and northeast fronts and managed to take control over several buildings. General Maan al-Saadi, commander of a special counter-terrorism unit said on Friday that the troops managed to liberate the university’s institute of technology and faculty of technology, as well as several administrative buildings, on which they hoisted the Iraqi flag. advance, though hundreds of civilians have already been killed and many areas heavily damaged.

Abu Rami, a 54-year-old former government employee, described a division of labor among Islamic State militants at the frontlines: a group that plants explosives, one that has snipers and another that serves as local guides.

The snipers are usually Russians, Chechens or Afghans, he said. The Iraqis, many from Mosul and the nearby city of Tel Afar, ride around on motorcycles telling them where to take up positions.

Abu Rami said he was surprised when the fairskinned sniper who posted up in his house spoke to him in broken Arabic, saying: “For the sake of Allah, get out.”

“They do not know the area so the motorcycle guides the suicide car bomb (to its target) and tells the fighters, ‘You go here, you go there. Go detonate here’”,