ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraqi armed forces announced that they brought a strategic Mosul neighborhood under their control on Sunday, two days after the second phase of an operation to retake the city was relaunched following a two week halt. Gen. Abdulamir Rashid, commander of the 'We are Coming Nineveh' operation, told Rudaw that "the Iraqi counter-terror forces liberated southern Karama neighborhood in Mosul." Rashid added that ISIS militants suffered heavy casualties and great damages in the neighborhood, where they had a strong presence. After the two week halt, the second phase of the operation resumed on December 29 with the advancing Iraqi forces killing 70 militants on the first day with the help of the US-led coalition. Kurdish military sources told Rudaw that the Peshmerga forces are now taking part in the second phase as supporting units for the Iraqi army and coalition airstrikes, with little presence in the direct fighting. And the global coalition has stepped up considerably its air support to the Iraqi army in efforts to hasten advances. On Sunday, a coalition airstrike hit an ISIS mortar tube that was firing on Iraqi forces from a location between two empty schools. “No civilians were in the area and minimal damage was reported to the buildings,” reads a statement from the coalition public affairs desk. Use of buildings such as schools, hospitals, and mosques for military purposes is illegal under international law but done regularly by ISIS. “We have seen this tactic used in ever greater numbers as the Iraqi Security Forces successfully push further into Mosul,” the coalition statement detailed. The airstrike was carried out at the request of the Iraqi forces, the statement added. The increased coalition support comes when an estimated 5,000 US troops are believed to have been stationed in the war-savaged city. The most notable neighborhoods, aside from southern Karama, to have been liberated from ISIS during the second round of the battle are Qudis1 and Qudis2. The operation to retake Mosul has been unfolding for more than two months and the commander of the Iraqi counter terror forces revealed to Rudaw that victory in all of eastern Mosul is imminent. "In a few days eastern Mosul will be completely cleared of ISIS as there are no substantial barriers in front of our advances," said Abdulqhani Assadi. The Iraqi army is the only force entering the city itself. Despite liberating nearly 40 neighborhoods in Mosul, the operation to retake the city has been slower than expected with the Iraqi army still struggling to enter the more densely populated central parts of the city.
