Iraqi leader praises 'big victory in Mosul'

Prime minister congratulates troops as fighting rages.

Iraq’s prime MOSUL, IRAQ — minister Tuesday congratulated his fighters on “the big victory in Mosul” even as fighting with Islamic State militants continued in Mosul’s Old City neigh- borhood where Iraqi forces are about 250 yards from the Tigris River and facing increasingly fierce resistance.

Haider al-Abadi spoke during a news conference in Baghdad, less than a week after he declared an end to the Islamic State’s self-styled caliphate after Iraqi forces achieved an incremental win by retaking the landmark al-Nuri Mosque in the Old City.

“Praise be to God, we managed to liberate (Mosul) and proved the others were wrong. The people of Mosul supported and stood with our security forces against terrorism,” al-Abadi said.

His remarks came on the third anniversary of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s sermon at the al-Nuri Mosque, from where he declared an Islamic caliphate in portions of Syria and Iraq seized by the group.

Also during Tuesday’s news conference, al-Abadi said he had given instruc- tions to rebuild and stabi- lize areas of the city already freed from the militants.

Inside Mosul’s Old City, civilians fleeing the Iraqi advance are increasingly desperate. The elderly and weak are carried across mounds of rubble in blankets. Soldiers — increasingly fearful of the Old City’s inhabitants after a string of suicide bombings — hurry the groups along.

A middle-aged woman with a gaunt, pale face fainted as she fled past the destroyed al-Nuri Mosque. Two soldiers carried her to the roadside and tried to revive her with cold water.

Humanitarian groups are reporting a spike in the number of displaced people suffering from malnutrition and dehydration.

“None of the previous battles were like this,” said Iraqi Maj. Faris Aboud, working at a small field hospital just outside the Old City. “In a single day we received 300 wounded. For me, seeing the wounded children is the hardest.”

Lt. Gen. Abdel Ghani al-Asadi of Iraq’s special forces said Iraqi forces were just 250 yards from the Tigris River, in the western half of Mosul. The Tigris is the dividing line between government-held eastern Mosul and the Islamic State-dominated west

The militants who remain trapped in the Old City are now in a “fight to the death,” al-Asadi said, adding that they are increasingly resorting to suicide bombings and that he expects the fighting to get even heavier as they are pushed closer to

the river.

FELIPE DANA / ASSOCIATED PRESS Fleeing Iraqi civilians walk past the heavily damaged al-Nuri Mosque as forces continue their advance against Islamic State militants in Mosul’s Old City. Civilians fleeing the advance are growing increasingly desperate.