Iraqi forces thrust into west Mosul from the north on Thursday, opening a new front in the more than six-month-old offensive to dislodge the ISIS group from the country’s second city.
The assault is aimed at sealing the siege of the Old City, where die-hard jihadists holding huge numbers of civilians hostage are preparing for a bloody last stand.
Forces from the army, the interior ministry and the police “began breaching the western side from the north,” the Joint Operations Command (JOC) coordinating the war against IS said in a statement.
“Now your sons are fighting and striking the enemy’s defences... They rejoice in victory or martyrdom for the sake of liberating the rest of the city of Mosul from ISIS terrorists,” it said.
The JOC said the targets of the latest push were northwestern neighbourhoods on the edges of Mosul called Musharifah, Kanisah and Al-Haramat.
The federal police issued a statement confirming the new operation, which comes after a relative lull in fighting around the Old City where most remaining jehadis are believed to be holed up.
It said Iraqi forces had already captured a small outlying village called Hsunah and a nearby gas factory.