Key buildings retaken from ISIS in Mosul
Key buildings retaken from ISIS in Mosul
Iraqi forces have taken control of several key government buildings and a bridge in western Mosul.
Among the buildings recaptured from ISIS on Monday were the Mosul Museum,
the judicial government complex and the Nineveh police directorate
building, Abdel Amir al-Mohamadi, Commander of the Rapid Response Forces
of the Iraqi Federal Police, told CNN.
The
supreme court, central bank and electricity and water authority
headquarters were also retaken in what the commander described as a
surprise attack that killed more than 130 ISIS fighters.
Smoke rises following an airstrike in western Mosul during the offensive Monday.
It
is the first time these buildings have been under Iraqi government
control since 2014. Located in a strategic area, the recaptured
buildings will provide better access to Mosul's old city, which forces
are seeking to recapture.
"The Mosul museum is completely destroyed and leveled to the ground. ISIS militants have looted and destroyed the museum artifacts and have rigged explosives around the buildings and leveled it to the ground," al-Mohamadi told CNN.
Iraqi security forces advance during the fighting in western Mosul on Mondau.
The
offensive to retake Mosul, Iraq's second most populous city, began in
October 2016. US forces in the area are providing advice and assistance
to Iraqi units.
Divided into east
and west by the Tigris river, the forces are now in the second phase,
launched on February 19, to clear militants from the west, having
liberated the east in January.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi, right, meets Iraqi forces in Mosul Tuesday.
Iraqi
forces also captured the the Al-Huriya bridge on Monday, the second of
five bridges across the Tigris to be seized from ISIS control, according
to Iraqi federal police.
In
February, the International Rescue Committee warned this part of the
operation to retake Mosul could be the "most dangerous phase" for
civilians as Iraqi troops seek to secure densely populated areas amid
ISIS resistance.
The number of civilians fleeing western Mosul in recent weeks has topped 57,000, an Iraqi official said Sunday.
Iraqi
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and Iraq's Commander in Chief of the
Armed Forces arrived in Mosul Tuesday to inspect the ground forces that
won back the government area on Monday, according to a statement from
the Iraqi Prime Minister's office.
Lt.
Gen. Abdul Amir Rasheed Yarallah, the commander of Iraqi forces in
Nineveh, told CNN that the advancement in western Mosul continued
Tuesday.
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Posted By Abayomi Ismail
source: http://edition.cnn.com
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