Battle for Mosul Day 218:

Volunteer Forces Liberate Ba'aj from ISIL

Rasa - The comprehensive military campaign by Iraqi military forces to liberate the Northern city of Mosul from ISIL militants continued on Sunday, as local reports said the Iraqi volunteer forces captured the Iraqi town of Ba'aj from the ISIL terror group.

News ID: 430111

Date: 04 June 2017 - 23:33

RNA - The comprehensive military campaign by Iraqi military forces to liberate the Northern city of Mosul from ISIL militants continued on Sunday, as local reports said the Iraqi volunteer forces captured the Iraqi town of Ba'aj from the ISIL terror group.

Volunteer Forces Take Ba'aj Town West of Mosul from ISIL

Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces captured the Iraqi town of Ba'aj from the ISIL terror group, further shrinking the Northern region under their control as part of a comprehensive campaign to retake the city of Mosul, the Iraqi military said on Sunday.

Eight months into the Mosul offensive, the ISIL militants have been dislodged from all of the city except an enclave along the Western bank of the Tigris river, Iraqi News reported.

ISIL’s grip on the Iraqi side of the Northern region along the border with Syria, a desert area where Iraqi sources believe ISIL leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is hiding, has been ebbing as forces fighting on the side of Iraq’s government have advanced.

Dozens of Civilians Found in Huge ISIL Underground Prison in Western Mosul

A local source from Nineveh said a huge underground prison with dozens of detainees from Anbar province was found in West of Mosul.

“While liberating Western Mosul districts, Iraqi troops found a huge underground prison, where dozens of detainees from Fallujah, Ramadi, Saqlawiyah and Karma cities were held,” the source told Al-Sumaria News.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the source added that “the detainees were released. They were secured by Iraqi troops ahead of being treated. They were then transferred to another place to check their identities.”

Bodies of Civilians Fleeing ISIL Litter Mosul Streets

A multi-ethnic humanitarian group disclosed that the ISIL terrorist group has killed dozens of civilians in the past two days while they were fleeing the embattled city of Mosul.

Dave Eubank, from the Free Burma Rangers (FBR), told Reuters on Saturday that the bodies of the victims who were escaping from West Mosul’s Zanjili neighborhood lay on the ground near the frontline with Iraqi forces.

"Over the past two days ISIS (ISIL or Daesh) has been shooting people escaping this area," he said, adding that "I saw over 50 dead bodies yesterday … and we rescued one little girl and one man. But there are still more."

6 ISIL Commandos Killed by Iraqi Forces near Syrian Borders

Iraq's Volunteer forces continued operations to clear the borders with Syria from militants , killing six members of the ISIL, including a senior leader.

A statement by Polular Mobilization Forces, also known as Hashd al-Shaaib, said that the Iraqi forces had killed six members of the ISIL commando forces, including Hassan Kanahs al-Zebeidi, a senior leader, at Matallat al-Markeb village near the borders with Syria, Iraqi News reported.

Earlier, the media outlet said mobilization forces recaptured one village near the borders.

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