Progress in Mosul

Iraqi troops yesterday drove out Isis (Islamic State) militants from the largest neighbourhood in the western half of the city of Mosul, a senior military commander said, a major development in the months-long fight to recapture the country’s secondlargest city. US-backed Iraqi forces declared eastern Mosul “fully liberated” in January, after officially launching the operation to retake the city in October. Yesterday, special forces Lieutenant General AbdulWahab al-Saadi said that the sprawling al-Tanek neighbourhood was now “fully liberated and under full control” of the security forces. To the east of al-Tanek, Iraqi forces have been facing tough resistance from Isis in Mosul’s Old City.