Iraq forces launch new push on IS in west Mosul

The assault is aimed at sealing the siege of the Old City, where die-hard jihadists holding huge numbers of civilians hostage are preparing for a bloody last stand. 

Forces from the army, the interior ministry and the police “began breaching the western side from the north,” the Joint Operations Command coordinating the war against IS said in a statement. “Now your sons are fighting and striking the enemy’s defences. They rejoice in victory or martyrdom for the sake of liberating the rest of the city of Mosul from Daesh terrorists,” it said. 

The JOC said the targets of the latest push were northwestern neighbourhoods on the edges of Mosul called Musharifah, Kanisah and Al-Haramat. 

The federal police issued a statement confirming the new operation, which comes after a relative lull in fighting around the Old City where most remaining jihadists are believed to be holed up. It said Iraqi forces had already captured a small outlying village called Hsunah and a nearby gas factory. 

Thursday’s operation opens a new front in the effort to wrest back west Mosul from IS which started in mid-February and saw thousands of Iraqi forces retake most southern and western neighbourhoods. 

An advance from the north will eventually leave the jihadists completely trapped in the narrow streets of the Old City, albeit with a large civilian population they have been using as human shields. UN said up to 4,00,000 people might be trapped in the densely populated Old City, which lies just west of the Tigris River that divides Mosul.