Iraqi Forces Clear Bombs, Search for Terrorists in Mosul
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Iraqi forces in west Mosul worked to clear bombs and searched for terrorists in recaptured areas Wednesday to set the stage for renewed offensive operations, officers said.
Iraqi security forces launched a major operation to retake west Mosul -- Daesh's last major urban bastion in the country -- on Feb. 19, but several days of bad weather slowed their pace until a renewed push began Sunday.
Since then, they have retaken a series of neighborhoods as well as the Nineveh provincial government headquarters and the Mosul museum, where Daesh terrorists infamously filmed themselves destroying priceless artifacts.
"The focus is on clearing the areas that were liberated (Tuesday) and defusing (bomb) rigged houses," Lieutenant Colonel Abdulamir al-Mohammedawi of the elite Rapid Response Division told AFP.
"The liberation of the city center is a first and very important step for beginning the liberation of the old city," Mohammedawi said, referring to an area near the old city that Iraqi forces have recaptured in recent days.
The battle for the old city still lies ahead, and may see some of the toughest fighting of the operation to retake west Mosul.
"The old city is a very difficult area," of narrow streets and closely spaced houses, he said.
"Berms and barriers were set up to protect (the) forces and they began search operations in Al-Dawasa and Al-Danadan and Al-Agaidat areas to find (Daesh) remnants to prepare for the completion of offensive operations," Lieutenant General Raed Shakir Jawdat, the federal police commander, said in a statement.
Jawdat was referring to areas retaken by Rapid Response and federal police forces.
Daesh overran large areas north and west of Baghdad in 2014, but Iraqi forces have since retaken much of the territory they lost.
Iraqi forces launched the massive operation to retake Mosul on Oct. 17, first recapturing its eastern side before setting their sights on its smaller but more densely populated west.
