Iraqi Forces Kill at Least 52 ISIL Militants in West Mosul Operations

Rasa - Iraqi forces killed at least 52 ISIL militants during operations aimed at purging West Mosul from the presence of the militants, reports said.

News ID: 428877

Date: 13 April 2017 - 21:52

RNA - “The forces raided al-Abar area, killing 17 ISIL members,” said Major Ali Mohsen, a commander of the Iraqi army’s elite Counter-Terrorism Forces (ICTF), presstv reported.

He added that six female ISIL members from various Arab nationalities were also detained during the operations.

“Troops liberated around 40 percent of al-Abar region,” he added, noting that Iraqi forces were still engaged in clashes with the terrorists.

A separate ICTF commander noted that the anti-terror forces had also carried out raids in al-Tanak, another district of the city.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Iraqi Defense Ministry announced that the air force had killed 20 terrorists during an operation in the al-Sabuniyah area of the city.

Separately, an Iraqi government official announced that 15 terrorists were also killed in an Iraqi air force airstrike in Mosul’s Western Hadar region.

“An airstrike targeted a gathering of ISIL militants in al-Shaihan village in al-Hadar area based on federal investigations and information,” read a statement.

“Others were injured as they were intending to launch attacks in several areas,” it added.

Meanwhile, Iraqi federal police troops discovered a terrorist ammunition depot during operations in the Old City area, where they have been active for several weeks and have been facing tough resistance which is hindering their progress.

They are currently advancing through the city’s maze-like streets towards the al-Nuri mosque, where ISIL’s leader, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, made his infamous sermon in 2014.

According to police Lieutenant Colonel Hussein Zughayer, around 1,000 rockets and 1,000 bags of chemical material used to make bombs and explosives were found in the cache.

"Troops found this depot during search operations of the district. The place was used by the ISIL to store rockets and use it against the civilians and the security forces," he added.

Iraqi army soldiers and pro-movement fighters have made sweeping gains against terrorist elements since launching the operation to retake Mosul last October.

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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