Iraqi Forces Control Mosul’s Old City Entrance, ISIS Trapped

Lt. Gen. Abudl-Amir Yarallah, commander of the Iraqi Joint Operations Command Nineveh Operations, said in a statement forces had taken over the Bab Sinjar area, while closing all routes to the Old City while completely besieging the Takfiri terrorists.
 
Due to the narrow streets of the Old City, the 9th division’s armored vehicles will stop at the entrance, leaving the invasion to infantry forces from the army, the Counter-Terrorism Service and the Rapid Response forces.
 
Iraqi commanders have recently said that a few hundred ISIS terrorists remained in the Old City, the group’s last hideout in western Mosul from where the group first declared the establishment of its rule over a third of both Iraq and Syria in 2014.
 
Iraqi government troops regained control over eastern Mosul in January after three months of intensive military operation. Iraqi forces began late April to advance towards the enclave from the northwest, having besieged it from the south for weeks to no avail.
 
At least 200,000 civilians are believed to remain in ISIS captivity in the Old City, and the United Nations said recently that the Takfiri terrorists group systematically shot dead fleeing civilians.
 
The operations to liberate Mosul are being carried out by the Iraqi army and Iraqi pro-government fighters from Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF).