Iraqi Security Forces Retake 5 Villages East of Mosul from Daesh

Iraqi government forces have managed to seize back five villages east of Mosul as they are battling DaeshTakfiri terrorists in joint operations with allied fighters from the Popular Mobilization Units to push the extremists out of the country’s second largest city.

The media bureau of the Iraqi Joint Operations Command announced in a statement on Monday that soldiers from the 15th Infantry Division had liberated the villages of Lower Sheikh Qora, Tisha al-Atshanah, al-Shuhada, Aziziyah and al-Mowali east of al-Mahalibiyah district, Arabic-language al-Sumaria television network reported.

 Meanwhile, Iraqi government forces have advanced in Mosul’s Old City, which serves as Daesh’s last bastion in the city.

Captain Adel Haider of Nineveh Provincial Police told Basnews news agency that Federal Police forces had launched an offensive against Bab al-Sinjar popular market, engaging in fierce clashes with Daesh extremists.

“Security forces laid a complete siege to the market and killed 23 militants, including bombers,” Haider said, adding that Iraqi Air Force fighter jets backed the operation.

Also on Monday, DPA news agency quoted Iraqi security sources as saying that field hospitals in Mosul had received the dead bodies of 21 Daesh terrorists.

The corpses, which bore gunshot marks in the head, had been strewn on streets in several areas retaken from the extremist group.

The sources added that the terrorists had probably been executed by unknown individuals in those neighborhoods.

Iraqi army soldiers and volunteer fighters from the Popular Mobilization Units, commonly known by their Arabic name, Hashd al-Sha’abi, have made sweeping gains against the Takfiri elements since launching the Mosul operation on October 17, 2016.

The Iraqi forces took control of eastern Mosul in January after 100 days of fighting, and launched the battle in the west on February 19.

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