MOSUL OFFENSIVE, DAY 17: LIVE UPDATES
11:28pm
Shiite militia says more area villages liberated from ISIS
The Shiite Hashd al-Shaabi militia said its forces liberated an area of 115 square kilometers in the Mosul offensive on Wednesday, bringing the total area cleared over five days to 705 square kilometers.
A statement by the militia said that the villages of Um Izzam, Khubairat, Tal Saif al Athari, Ayn al Jahsh factory and Rahmaniyah were liberated on Wednesday, and that the ISIS-held villages of Kukh, Hadaja, and Abu Fashka were surrounded.
The statement also said that operations Wednesday included cutting the ISIS supply line from Mosul to the militants Raqqa stronghold in Syria. The militia said it now controls “the most significant site” since joining the offensive five days ago.
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8:03pm
An ISIS drone shot down by Iraqi forces at Gogjali, the first Mosul neighborhood freed from the militants.
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6:34pm
See the latest on the Rudaw Live 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
Dark orange - encircled/battling by Hashd al-Shaabi
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6:19pm
Coalition warplanes bombing ISIS positions in Hawija and Riaz, south of Kirkuk, according to Kirkuk police official.
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5:37pm
Rudaw shows Iraqi Army in Gogjali: debris of war, people welcoming forces
5:00pm
Iraqi Army, Shiite forces announce more villages liberated near Mosul
The Iraqi Army liberated three more villages on Wednesday, the War Media Center said on Wednesday afternoon.
It named two of the newly-liberated villages as al-Khafsan and Qutba, close to Hammam al-Alil, where Iraqi forces are reportedly fighting on the edge of the town. The third village is Munira, one of the largest in the area.
The Iraqi Army launched an offensive Wednesday morning to recapture Hammam al-Alil, which lies about 31 km south of Mosul.
Meanwhile, the Shiite Hashd al-Shaabi militia, which is allied with the Iraqi Army and is fighting west of Mosul, announced the liberation of the villages of Ayn Shahlub and al-Rahmaniyah.
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2:33pm
Shiite militia cuts first ISS supply line to Mosul
The Shiite militia Hashd al-Shaabi claims it has cut the first supply line to Mosul from the southwest.
“The Hashd al-Shaabi forces has now control over the highway southwest of Mosul and has reached the main road. This will cut the first supply line for the Islamic State forces leading to Mosul,” the militia reported on its official Facebook page Wednesday afternoon.
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2:06pm
Young girl takes Niqab off as she reaches safety of Peshmerga forces, having fled ISIS tyranny.
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1:44pm
Iraqi forces advance from southwest of Mosul
The Iraqi federal police has liberated three more village south of Hammam al-Ali district, according to Lt. Gen. Abdul Amir Rasheed Jarallah, the deputy-commander for the Joint Operations, the Iraq War Media office reported on Wednesday.
The villages are: Bazzunnah, Kharar, and Shahlub on the southwest front.
Commander of Nineveh Operations Major General Najim al-Jabouri told Rudaw that they are expecting to liberate the areas in the southwest front
“God willing we will liberate these areas in the next one or two days, and will then advance towards Mosul” al-Jabouri said.
He added that the Iraqi forces have now entered Mosul from the east.
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12:40pm
Sunni militia controls Abassiyah area, southeast of Mosul
The Turkish-trained Sunni militia of Nineveh Guads claims it has liberated the Abassiyah area, southwest of Mosul.
Zuhair al-Jbouri, spokesperson for the Sunni militia, told Rudaw Wednesday that they are now in control of the area, less than three kilometers from Mosul.
He added that the ISIS militants attacked their forces with three suicide car bombs but did not cause any casualties.
The former Governor of Nineveh Atheel al-Nujaifi is in effect the commander of the Nineveh Guards, previously known as Hashd al-Watani.
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11:31am
Iraqi Federal police liberates two villages
The Iraqi War Media reported the liberation of the village of al-Qahira, southwest of Hammam al-Alil, and the village of Mankar, north of Shura district by the federal police
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10:11am
Clashes continue in Gogjali
The Iraqi Golden division continues to fight the remaining ISIS militants in Mosul’s eastern quarter of Gogjali, Rudaw’s correspondent Ranja Jamal reported from the scene.
On Tuesday evening the commander for the Iraqi counter-terror forces, Talib Kanani, told reporters that Gogjali is fully under Iraqi army control.
The Iraqi army entered the eastern outskirts of Mosul on Tuesday evening for the first time in more than two years.
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10:00am
Shiite militia liberates two villages
The Shiite militia Hashd al-Shaabi has recaptured two villages southwest of Mosul Wednesday morning, bringing the total of villages liberated in the last five days to 48.
The militia announced on its Facebook page Wednesday morning that the villages of Umm al Izam, and Khubairat came under its control after fierce fighting with the Islamic State.
On Tuesday evening, it reported it had liberated 46 villages since its involvement in the Mosul offensive on Saturday, covering an area of 590 square km.
At least 15 militants of the militia were killed and 30 others were wounded in liberated villages near ISIS-held Talaafar southeast of Mosul city on Tuesday.
Video, the Shiite militia in their military campaign to recapture some villages near Tal Afar, a largely Turkmen city, 63 km west of Mosul.