Mosul Offensive Day 15: Live Updates
11:59pm
Iraqi army advance on Mosul city centre from north and southeast
Iraqi forces are advancing towards Mosul city centre from the north and southeast, the Iraqi Joint Operations Command said Monday evening, adding that its forces have liberated several villages north, southeast, and southwest of Mosul.
Lt. Gen. Abdul Amir Rasheed Jarallah, the deputy-commander for the Joined Operations, said in a summary statement that the Iraqi federal police and the Nineveh operations liberated the villages of al-Sruj, Bayiza, the small Hasuna and big Hasuna to the southwest.
On the southeastern front, the 9th armoured division and the third brigade liberated the villages of Alik, Tahrawa, and Tubruq. Forces will advance to the city centre from this front.
On the northern front, the 16th infantry division liberated Najmook, Tal Yabis, Shalalat, and will keep advancing towards the city centre.
On the eastern front, the Iraqi counter-terror forces liberated Bizwaya, Gogjali factories, and advanced on Gogjali quarter.
The Iraqi engineering teams, the Iraqi commander added, have built a bridge “in record time” over the Tigris River in place of the destroyed Qayyara bridge. Its length is 160 metres.
Atheel al-Nujaifi said that his Nineveh Guard forces fought alongside the 16th division of the Iraqi forces on the northern front today.
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
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9:12pm
Iraqi forces surround Mosul's first quarter
The Iraqi Golden Brigade has surrounded the Gogjali area, the first Mosul quarter in the eastern side of the city, about 7 km away from Mosul city center, Rudaw’s correspondent Ranja Jamal reported from Gogjali factories that came under Iraqi control today after intensive fighting.
Credit: Google Maps
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8:32pm
Shiite militia liberated 490 sq km, killed Turkish and Chechen ISIS militants
The Shiite militia Hashd al-Shaabi has liberated 490 square kilometres in the last three days, since it launched its offensive west of Mosul, Ahmad Asadi, the spokesperson for the militia told reporters.
So far, the militia has recaptured 39 villages, including 17 today, he added.
He named the following villages as liberated: Tal Sikhan, Imam Hamza, Aslya, Huwaysh, Um Shanin, Abu Shwayha, Arish, Um Sijan, Huwayt, Khurba Tayir, Mushairafa, Sruj, Albu Juradi, Zuwai’za’a, Dalawiya Al Sharqiyah, Sahl Abas, and Hasuna.
The militia had earlier published a list of villages liberated today that also included the villages of Kharati and Qarqara.
Asadi added that the militia has killed a number of ISIS militants who held foreign citizenship, such as Turkish and Chechen.
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6:04pm
Iraqi army and counter-terrorism forces free more villages as they advance on Mosul
The Iraqi Army has liberated four more villages around Mosul, the military's War Media Center reported.
It said the villages of Sunaidij and Shahid Subhi, north of the Great Zab river that lies south of Mosul, were cleared of ISIS.
The village of Tubruq, southeast of Mosul, also was liberated.
The army’s counter-terrorism forces liberated the village of Bazwaiya village, which was followed by an advance by the military on the left bank of the river in Mosul that flows north to south.
5:42pm
Peshmerga officer killed in ISIS ambush
Peshmerga officer Sidiq Argushi, from the Kurdish force’s engineering corps, was killed in an ambush by ISIS gunmen on the village of Khrayet on the Tel Skuf front.
Argushi was working on defusing an ISIS improvised explosive device (IED) when ISIS gunmen lying in wait emerged from their hiding place. The Peshmerga officer was killed in the clash that followed.
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5:20pm
Correction: Shiite militia liberates 17 villages on Monday, not 18 as we reported before
The Shiite Hashd al-Shaabi militia liberated 17 villages west of Mosul on Monday, the third day of their involvement in the offensive to liberate the city from ISIS.
The militia said on its Facebook page that the following villages were liberated: Tal Sikhanm, Imam Hamza, Aslya, Huwaysh, Um Shanin, Abu Shwayha, Kharati, Qarqara, Uraish, Um Sijan, Huwayt, Khurba Tayir, Mushairafa, Sruj, Albu Jaradi, Zuwai’za’a, Dalawiya.
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BREAKING: 5:10
Iraqi forces in range to fire on ISIS in Mosul
Iraqi forces have liberated the village of Alik, from where they can now fire on ISIS on the east bank of Mosul, the Iraqi army’s War Media Center said, quoting a senior commander.
It said the forces were now “in range to fire directly and indirectly” on Mosul’s left bank, referring to the eastern side of a river that flows from north to south.
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BREAKING: 4:55pm
ISIS militants fanning out in Mosul’s al-Karama neighborhood as Iraqi forces close in
Iraqi forces are on the eastern edge of Mosul, entering from the Gogjali gate, a blogger with sources inside the city reported.
The Mosul Eye said sources inside the city are reporting that the eastern bank of Mosul has been placed under curfew, after Iraqi forces said they were in range to fire on the river bank.
According to the Mosul Eye, a blogger and historian who has been reporting on the city, Iraqi forces are entering Mosul from the Gogjali gate. He said the area has been mainly depopulated, but is the first neighborhood on that route into the city and close to al-Karama, a heavily populated area where people “are able to see ISIL (ISIS) fighters spreading on the streets, and worry that ISIL might utilize their homes.”
According to the Mosul Eye, the eastern neighborhoods of Mosul are predominantly Kurdish and Sunni Shabak, “and they are the most impoverished classes in Mosul.”
The western bank of the city, he reported, is still calm, though most shops are closed and there is little activity on the streets.
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Mosul offensive on Rudaw's 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
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3:52pm BREAKING
Hadi al-Amiri, leader of the Shiite Hashd al-Shaabi militia: Our forces just 7 km from Mosul airport.
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3:25pm
Iraqi forces "continue steady advance"
US Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter Islamic State Brett McGurk
"Iraqi forces continue steady advance towards Mosul this morning. Our coalition enabling with air support, equipment, ammunition"
Iraqi forces continue steady advance towards #Mosul this morning. Our coalition enabling with air support, equipment, ammunition. #الموصل
— Brett McGurk (@brett_mcgurk) October 31, 2016
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BREAKING: 2:36pm
Iraqi forces less than a kilometer from Mosul
Iraqi forces are about 800 meters from Mosul and are close to liberating the city, said Talib Kinany, head of Iraq's counter-terrorism forces.
Talking to reporters in the village of Tehrawah that was liberated by the Iraqi Army on Monday, he said that "the Iraqi army is some 800 meters from the Mosul limits."
"We were between 800 to 900 meters away from Mosul limits this morning and we could be even closer now," he explained.
" That also means we are very close to liberating Mosul," Kinany added.
Shortly before, Fazil Barwari, commander of the Iraqi Golden Force, said that Iraqi forces will be inside Mosul by this evening.
"We have surrounded Gobjali (Mosul gate) and by evening we will b eat the Mosul TV building,' Barwari said.
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BREAKING: 2:25pm
Fazil Barwari, commander of the Iraqi Golden Force: 'We have surrounded Gobjali (Mosul gate) and by evening we will be at the Mosul TV building.'
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2:13 pm
Rudaw reporter: Shiite Hashd al-Shaabi militia has control of the village of Jirn, 40 km from the town of Tal Afar, north of Mosul.
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2:05 pm
Iraqi Army says its forces are between 800 and 900 meters from Mosul city.
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1:51pm
The Iraqi government's war media office says that the two villages of Najmoom and Tilibas in Nineveh province were liberated from ISIS "following tough clashes on Monday."
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12:11 pm
Rudaw footage of Mosul IDPs who have escaped from ISIS in Bashiqa taking a rest and food in Peshmerga shelters on the front.
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11:17 am
Peshmerga forces have fulfilled their military plans, says Iraqi army commander
"Military plans are going on well and in a few hours we will reach Mosul’s city limits,” said Abdulghani Assadi, a commander in Iraqi counter-terror forces.
“The Iraqi forces are coming closer to Mosul from all directions,” he added. “The Peshmerga have stopped now and carried out their plans, now we are completing the rest of the plan from our fronts.”
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10:38 am
Iraqi forces are advancing against ISIS from Mosul’s north, east and southeast and have besieged a village named Bazwaiya, Abdulghani Assadi, a commander in the Iraqi counter-terrorism forces told Rudaw early on Monday.
“There are only Sunni militiamen fighting in the east,” Abdulghani said, adding that they share the same objectives as the Peshmerga.
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10:22 am
According to information obtained by Rudaw, the Iraqi security forces liberated a village named Tilibas on Monday morning.
“As part of the operation to liberate Nineveh province from ISIS offensives resumed on the Bartella, Tahrawa and Ali Rash fronts east of Mosul city,” read an announcement released by the Iraqi government media.
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10:08 am
On the 15th day of the Mosul operation, Iraqi armed forces continued to advance against ISIS on three fronts to the city's north, east and southeast.