Iraqi forces launch fresh push in western Mosul battle

Iraqi forces have started a new push toward Mosul's old city center as they press ahead with their operation to purge the western bank of the Tigris River of Daesh terrorists.

Brigadier-General Yahya Rasool, spokesman for the Iraqi Joint Operations Command (JOC), told state-run television on Sunday that the Iraqi forces were advancing from the south and the southwest toward the city center.

Members of the Counter Terrorism Service were also pushing through Mosul’s Tal al-Ruman and Somood districts, he added.

An unnamed media officer with the Rapid Response Division said the forces were progressing from the south through the neighborhood of Dawasa and Danadan and had reached within a few hundred meters from the government buildings near Mosul’s old city.

Retaking Dawasa is said to be of strategic importance as it hosts the Nineveh governor's headquarters and other government buildings.

Separately, the JOC confirmed that an offensive was underway against terrorists in the four aforesaid Mosul districts, adding, “the advance is still ongoing.”

SS