AL-MESHRAQ, Iraq – Iraqi forces have been engaged in an intense fight in the strategic Meshraq neighbourhood of Mosul since early Saturday morning.
Recapturing the neighbourhood will pave the way for the Iraqi forces to push deeper into the city centre.
In neighbouring Qadisiyah district, ISIS militants launched an offensive in an attempt to regain control of neighborhoods they have lost, but were pushed back by the Iraqi forces.
Iraqi forces are also fighting in the Zuhur district where a house owned by a Kurd had been turned into a training facility by ISIS. Locals said that ISIS brought youth from downtown to this house to train them there.
“There is heavy fighting going on between the Qadisiyah and Zuhur districts,” Abdul-Wahab Saadi, a commander with the Iraqi counter-terrorism forces, told Rudaw.
ISIS snipers have taken up positions in schools and mosque minarets, aiming to hold off the Iraqi army’s advance into the city. The Iraqi counter-terrorism forces say that ISIS’ most lethal weapon is their snipers.
There are dead bodies of ISIS militants lying in the streets.
Fog and smoke have covered the skies of Mosul since early Saturday afternoon, slowing down the Iraqi army’s advance into the city. These conditions work in the favour of ISIS militants who exploit the weather to launch attacks on the Iraqi forces and prevent them from making advances, Iraqi field commanders said.
Map legend:
Dark green - under Peshmerga control
Light green - encircled/battling by Peshmerga
Red - under Iraqi control
Pink - encircled/battling by Iraqi forces
Yellow - under Hashd al-Shaabi control
Orange - encircled/battling by Hashd al-Shaabi
