Iraqi forces close in on Mosul mosque

Capture will deal a blow to Daesh as it was from there Al Baghdadi declared the so-called caliphate

Iraqi army helicopters strafed and fired rockets at Daesh positions in Mosul’s Old City yesterday as troops on the ground closed in on the strategic and symbolic prize of the Al Nouri Mosque.

Federal Police troops had advanced past the train station in western Mosul closer to the mosque. A police commander said they were very close to taking control of it.

Residents fled from the area, carrying bags of belongings and picking their way through the wrecked buildings as shells and gunfire echoed behind them. Most of them were women and children.

“Federal Police and Rapid Response forces resumed their advance after halting operations due to bad weather. The troops have a target of retaking the rest of the Old City,” a police spokesman said.

The battle to recapture Daesh’s last stronghold in Iraq has now entered its sixth month. Iraqi government forces have cleared the east and half of western Mosul and are now focused on controlling the Old City.

Recent fighting has targeted the centuries-old Al Nouri Mosque, with its famous leaning minaret. Its capture would be a blow for Daesh as it was from there that Daesh leader Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi declared a so-called caliphate in July 2014 after the terrorists had seized swathes of Iraq and Syria.

US officials estimate about 2,000 Daesh fighters remain inside Iraq’s second largest city, resisting with mortar fire, snipers and suicide car bombs that plough into army positions.

The black Daesh flag still flew from the mosque’s minaret yesterday. Federal Police moved in on foot from near the train station towards the Old City, trotting through rubble-filled streets.

Police commander General Khalid Al Obaidi told reporters on the frontline: “We are advancing toward the Old City. Their resistance is weakening. They are mostly using car bombs and that shows they are losing on the ground.”