INTO MOSUL

IRAQI SPECIAL forces battled their way inside the contested city of Mosul for the first time in two years, setting the stage Tuesday for a climactic showdown with ISIS jihadists.

The arrival of Iraqi fighters in the nation’s second-largest city — and the country’s last urban outpost for Islamic State terrorists — signaled the likely start of a slow, difficult battle for control of Mosul.

The Iraqis seized control of the city’s state television building, despite bombs laid along the road into Mosul by ISIS terrorists.

The forces then established their presence in the Karama district and the Gogjali neighborhood before a blinding sandstorm blew in, cutting visibility to the length of a football field.

ISIS “is fighting back and have set up concrete blast walls to block off the Karama neighborhood and our troops’ advance,” said special forces Maj. Gen. Sami al-Aridi.

Losing Mosul would deliver a major setback to the ISIS jihadists, who claimed the city from an overmatched Iraqi Army in 2014.

The battle for control could stretch for months as the Iraqi fighters go door-todoor and house-to-house in their efforts to drive ISIS out.

The U.S.-led coalition inflicted air strikes on the reeling ISIS fighters on Tuesday, with more promised.