Fierce clashes in Mosul as army tries to push into new neighborhoods to evict ISIS

MOSUL, Iraq - Fierce fighting erupted between the Iraqi army and ISIS militants in northeastern Mosul’s Barid neighborhood early Monday.

Rudaw’s Farhad Dolamari reported from Barid that coalition forces were backing the Iraqi army in clashes with ISIS militants.

Military sources told Rudaw that the aim of the operation is to liberate Barid and then push into the adjoining Nisan Seventh and Siddiq neighborhoods. 

The militants were putting up tough resistance, commanders told Rudaw. 

Despite the fighting, residents of Barid have remained put so far, unlike others who have left eastern districts in large numbers, most for the safety of the Kurdistan Region.

Iraqi forces intensified their offensive on Sunday, after two days of dust storms and rains had hampered visibility, making it especially hard for coalition jets to bomb ISIS targets. The militants used the poor visibility to launch counterattacks against the Iraqi military.

Iraqi forces and their allied forces have surrounded the city of Mosul, leaving no corridor for the militants to escape.

Coalition spokesman Col. John Dorrian told Rudaw this week that many ISIS fighters are dying in place in Mosul as Iraqi forces continue to make progress in a slow, tough, dangerous fight. More than two dozens of eastern neighborhoods in Mosul has been taken, constricting where ISIS is able to move and operate, making it more difficult for the extremist group to react to army advances from the north and the south.

Rudaw’s Nabard Hussein reported heavy clashes between Iraqi forces and ISIS militants in northeastern Mosul on Sunday evening, as the military pushed into new neighborhoods and soldiers dodged snipers stationed on rooftops.