ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – In a pre-dawn offensive on Friday, Iraqi Counter-Terrorism (ICTS) forces crossed the Khosr River, a tributary of the Tigris running through the eastern half of the city.
"The Counter-Terrorism Forces have begun early today, in the morning, to raid the al-Muthana district, northeast of Mosul with the support of the coalition and Iraqi fighter jets," Brigadier General Shukr Nuaimi, commander of 73 Brigade of the Iraqi forces, said in a press conference, detailing that the raid began at 3 in the morning.
"The CTF have crossed Khosr... to raid the district."
"We used special equipment and had the element of surprise – the enemy did not expect us to mount a night offensive because all previous offensives were during the day," Sabah al-Numan, ICTS spokesperson, told Reuters.
ISIS militants did put up strong resistance, however, Nuaimi said. They deployed suicide bombers and snipers on top of buildings in al-Jazair district, south of Muthana.
The ICTS have now completely surrounded Muthana quarter, they announced on their official social media pages on Friday.
#ICTS Hero's crosses the #Kos river and surrounding the #Muthana quarter completely#عيد_الجيش_يجمعنا pic.twitter.com/Q42beugOat
— جهاز مكافحة الإرهاب (@iraqicts) January 6, 2017
Iraqi forces also progressed in the north of the city on Friday. General Abdul Amir Rashid Yarallah, commander of the Mosul offensive, said in a press statement that the 15th and 16th divisions of the Iraqi army have liberated Hadba district in northern Mosul.
Coalition spokesperson, Col. John Dorrian, commended the Iraqi forces for their progress.
The #Iraqi Security Forces are making excellent strides in liberating neighborhoods in Eastern Mosul from #Daesh
— OIR Spokesman (@OIRSpox) January 6, 2017
January 6 is Iraqi Army Day.
See the latest developments on Rudaw's map:
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
