Fierce resistance as Iraqi troops push inside Mosul
IRAQI forces battled jihadists deep inside Mosul yesterday, edging closer to the River Tigris that divides the city and looking for a breakthrough in the sevenweek-old offensive.
The fighting to retake Islamic State’s last major stronghold in Iraq has prompted a steady trickle of people to leave their homes, many taking refuge in camps where nighttime temperatures have dipped below zero.
The army’s 9th Armoured Division said it had retaken Al-Salam hospital in a push on Tuesday, the farthest the army has penetrated into east Mosul since the start of a broad offensive launched on October 17.
“We advanced in Al-Salam district but the situation is difficult, there is heavy fighting,” Brigadier General Shaker Kadhem said. “We took control of Al-Salam hospital, which was a command centre for Daesh,” he said.
The elite Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) has spearheaded the drive into Mosul over the past month, retaking several neighbourhoods in the east of the city. The army also punched into Mosul in November but its progress has been slower and Iraqi forces barely control half of the eastern side of the city.
Kadhem said the goal of the lat- est push was to meet up with CTS forces on the banks of the Tigris in the southeast of the city. A senior CTS officer said the fighting in Al-Salam was fierce and the army had asked for backup.
Officers and analysts had expected the eastern side of Mosul to offer less resistance but the going has been tough.
Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitaries have retaken significant ground in recent weeks on a western front targeting the town of Tal Afar, which lies on the road linking Mosul to Syria.
Forces on the southern and northern fronts made quick early gains when Iraq launched its largest military operation in years but progress has been slow. One of the main factors hampering Iraqi forces in Mosul is the continued presence of hundreds of thousands of civilians, who either do not want to leave their homes or are prevented from leaving by IS.
The UN yesterday put the overall number of people displaced by the offensive at more than 82,000. In its latest situation report, the UN spoke of spiralling civilian casualties as Iraqi forces went house to house in east Mosul, attempting to battle jihadists and protect civilians at the same time.