LIVE: Iraqi forces breach 'strong defense lines' of ISIS, liberate state building
2:57 p.m.
Iraqi army says it has put ISIS drones out of service
A commander of the Iraq’s Counter Terrorism Service (ICTS) claims that they have been able to control the ISIS drone system in the western half of Mosul through the use of parasite machines.
ISIS militants have armed commercial drones with hand grenades and used them against advancing Iraqi troops since the second phase of the Mosul offensive that began in late December to retake the city from the radical group.
In early January Rudaw reported a case of ISIS drones harassing Iraqi forces in eastern Mosul, dropping hand grenades and other explosives as they made their way into the group’s territories which succeeded in slowing down their advance.
“That issue has been resolved completely,” Lieutenant-General Abdul Ghani al-Assadi, an ICTS commander told Rudaw TV on Tuesday as he was asked about the challenge of facing the ISIS drones in the sky of Mosul.
“They [ISIS] used it on the first day against the Counter Terrorism Service which recorded 72 sorties from them. On the second day, we recorded 52 sorties. Then we used some machines, [interference] parasite machines, it became 8, and five days before now, and until today, not even a single flight.”
Earlier, Major General Najim al-Jabbouri told Rudaw that the US forces brought a special interference machine to the western Mosul to paralyze the ISIS drones.
"The Americans have brought in a very advanced machine to the right bank of Mosul," Jabouri said, "It is like a big vehicle. ISIS can no longer send even one drone into the sky."
Colonel John Dorrian, the spokesperson for the US-led anti-ISIS global coalition, told Rudaw Tuesday that ISIS is not able to stop the advance of the Iraqi forces, but the only capability ISIS has is the use of drones, a practice that is in decline, he said.
"...the Iraqi security forces are moving very rapidly right now. The enemy is not able to stop their advances,” Colonel Dorrian said. “The only thing the enemy has still been effective in doing is using drones, and even this capability has been declining.”
This comes as the ICTS commander said that Iraqi forces have achieved more than 60 percent of the military objectives in the western half of Mosul, as they breached "strong defense lines" of ISIS south of the city.
"The number of places liberated are not important, as is the importance of the places," Assadi said. “The places that have been liberated [in western Mosul] are strong defense lines of ISIS which fell two days ago."
"Our forces were then able to push deep [into western Mosul]; meaning that if you give a percentage of importance, I can say more than 60 percent have been achieved in the liberation of the right bank of Mosul," Assadi said, in reference to the right bank of the Tigris river that bisects the city.
The ICTS spearheaded the offensive on the eastern half of Mosul, which was retaken by Iraqi forces in late January after 100 days of fighting, and in which at least 500 soldiers lost their lives.
VIDEO: Moment when Iraqi forces came under attack by the armed drones of ISIS in the eastern half of Mosul in early January.
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12:38 p.m.
Iraqi forces breach ISIS' "strong defense lines" south of Mosul
Iraqi forces have achieved more than 60 percent of the military objectives in the western half of Mosul, as they breached "strong defense lines" of the ISIS group south of the city, Lieutenant-General Abdul Ghani al-Assadi, a commander of the US-trained Counter Terrorism Service (ICTS) told Rudaw TV on Tuesday.
He said the ICTS has now completed the liberation of Tal al-Ruman, southwestern Mosul, and have launched a simultaneous attack on the nearby districts of Shuhada and al-Umal.
"The number of places liberated are not important, as is the importance of the places," he said. "The places that have been liberated [in western Mosul] are strong defense lines of ISIS which fell two days ago."
"Our forces were then able to push deep [into western Mosul]; meaning that if you give a percentage of importance, I can say more than 60 percent have been achieved in the liberation of the right bank of Mosul," Assadi said, in reference to the right bank of the Tigris river that bisects the city.
The ICTS spearheaded the Mosul offensive on the eastern half of Mosul, retaken by the Iraqi forces in late January after 100 days of fighting against ISIS, in which at least 500 Iraqi soldiers lost their lives.
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11:40 a.m.
Iraqi Prime Minister visits Iraqi armed forces near Mosul
Iraqi Prime Minister and Commander of the Armed Forces Haider al-Abadi visited his country's forces in Nineveh province on Tuesday morning, the office of the prime minister announced. The visit is to oversee the course of the battle against ISIS in the western half of Mosul. PM Abadi announced the third and current phase of Mosul offensive on February 19.
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10:26 a.m.
Iraqi forces retake Turkish consulate in Mosul
The Iraqi army recaptured the Turkish consulate general in Mosul more than two years after it fell to ISIS as the group overran Iraq’s second largest city, Iraqi forces told Rudaw on Tuesday morning.
The consulate is located at Dur Al-Dhubat Caddesi next to Al-Shekban Mosque in western Mosul. It is between al-Tayyaran district, recaptured on Feb 26, and the fourth bridge of Mosul that came under the control of the Iraqi forces this week.
When ISIS captured Mosul in June 2014 it seized the Turkish consulate, holding 46 Turks and three Iraqis, hostage. All the hostages were released in September 2014.
American-led coalition warplanes bombed ISIS positions at the consulate in Mosul with Ankara's consent in April 2016.
“High-level Daesh terrorists reportedly were present in the compound which was destroyed by coalition warplanes at 3 am on April 4," a release from the Turkish foreign ministry stated. “Turkey approved this operation at all stages, from preparation to execution. Our country continues to combat Daesh activities in cooperation with the international anti-ISIS coalition."
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9:14 a.m.
Iraqi army says it is in full control of government complex in Mosul
Iraq’s elite Rapid Response force and the Federal Police have liberated the governor’s building and controlled the western end of the second bridge, also known as al-Hurriyah, on the river, Lt. Gen. Abdul Amir Yarallah, the commander of the Mosul offensive announced in a military statement.
Iraqi forces launched the attack against ISIS positioned inside the complex at 1:00 a.m. Major General Najm al-Jubbouri, commander of the Nineveh operation told Rudaw TV.
With the control of the governor’s building the Iraqi forces are now in full control of the government complex that includes key institutions, Shakir Jawdat, the commander of the Federal Police said.
Brett McGurk, US Special Presidential Envoy for the anti-ISIS global coalition, said in a tweet that the governmental complex was the "administrative headquarter" for ISIS militants.
Iraqi forces advancing in west #Mosul and announce liberation of governance complex. This was the administrative HQ for #ISIS terrorists.
— Brett McGurk (@brett_mcgurk) March 7, 2017
The US-trained Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service (ICTS or CTS) meanwhile liberated al-Sumud district on Monday, Rudaw’s reporter Sidad Lashkri, embedded with the Iraqi forces, reported, adding that the elite forces had also stormed al-Mansur, southern Mosul.
Maj. Gen. Jabbouri said that the ICTS have recaptured “a big part of” al-Tal Ruman, and “God willing it will be liberated today.”
Iraqi forces are now in control of both ends of two of the five bridges in Mosul, all of which had been “disabled” in airstrikes by the US-led anti-ISIS global coalition on the request of the Iraqi government to stop the movement of ISIS militants from crossing over to the eastern side liberated on January 24.
Jabbouri also speculated about the number of remaining ISIS militants in Mosul.
“According to coalition estimates, and mine, there are no more than 900 ISIS militants in Mosul,” he said.
At the start of the third and current phase of the Mosul offensive, that began on Feb 19, the spokesperson for the Joint Operations Command said that Iraqi forces had "accurate intelligence" on ISIS positions, methods, and their movements in western Mosul.
“The figures for the armed militants, based on the intelligence, are somewhere between 1,800 to 2,000, and there are about 200 suicide bombers," Brig. Gen. Yahya Rasul told Rudaw TV.
US Army Lt. General Stephen Townsend said last week there were about 2,000 ISIS militants in and around western Mosul.
US military personnel trained Iraqi forces near Baghdad ahead of the operation for the western side of the city on installing floating bridges as replacement for ones destroyed in the war. Photo: AFP