During the past few weeks, the CTS forces, federal police and army soldiers made slow progress due to the stiff resistance of IS militants and a large number of roadside bombs and booby-trapped buildings, in addition to IS snipers who took positions in the buildings of heavily-populated neighborhoods.
According to UN reports, some 100,000 civilians are still trapped in the IS-held areas in the old city center and the adjacent al-Shifaa neighborhood. The extremist group is using the civilians as human shields.
Iraqi forces, backed by international coalition, launched their final push on June 18 to drive out IS militants from al-Shifaa neighborhood and most of the densely-populated old city center in the western side of Mosul, locally known as the right bank of Tigris River.
Mosul, 400 km north of Iraq's capital Baghdad, has been under IS control since June 2017, when government forces abandoned their weapons and fled, enabling IS militants to take control of parts of Iraq's northern and western regions.
【国际英语资讯:Iraqi forces push further into heart of Mosuls old city amid fierce clashes】相关文章:
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2020-09-15
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