A fighter from the Hashd al-Shaabi forces, also known as Popular Mobilization Forces, flashes the sign for victory in the village of Ayn Nasir, south of Mosul, October 29, 2016. (Photo by AFP)
Iraqi forces have launched an offensive to advance toward the eastern borders of the city of Mosul from three new axes.
The Joint Operations Command coordinating Iraq’s war on the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group said the elite Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) and army troops launched a campaign “to advance toward the left bank of the city of Mosul from three axes.”
The Tigris River flows through Mosul; thus, Iraqis refer to the city’s eastern half as the “left bank” and its western part as the “right bank.”
A senior officer with the CTS said outside the recently-recaptured town of Bartalla that only two villages separate the Iraqi forces from Mosul.
“The target is to retake Bazwaya and Gogjali, the last two villages before Mosul,” he said, adding, “If we manage that, we’ll only be a few hundred meters from Mosul.”
The operations to liberate Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city and Daesh’s self-proclaimed headquarters in the Arab country, have entered their third week.
According to al-Sumaria news website, Iraq’s Hashd al-Shaabi forces liberated the village of Dlawya al-Sharqiya, west of Mosul, from Daesh on Monday.
A security source in Nineveh Province also said security forces took control of five villages in the northern front toward the town of Tal Kif.
A massive explosion targeted a meeting of Daesh commanders in the al-Sarjkhana area in the center of Mosul, a local source said, adding that a number of senior commanders were killed.
Iraq’s War Media Cell said Iraqi forces also managed to retake the villages of Najmom and Tal al-Yabes in northern Nineveh from Daesh.
Iraqi security forces also regained control of the villages of Tobruk and Tahrawa on the southeastern front of Mosul.
The CTS forces purged Bazwaya of the Takfiri militants and raised the Iraqi flag over its buildings.
Three villages to the southwest of Mosul were also liberated, including Mashyrfa.
The Iraqi forces also seized back the village of Tall Sikhan, west of Mosul.
The CTS said that the Iraqi forces are advancing toward the first area in the city of Mosul from the eastern side.
Lieutenant General Abdul Wahhab al-Saadi said the CTS forces are advancing toward the village of Kokjeli.
(This item is being updated.)