- Title: Iraqi commander says anti-IS forces control part of eastern Mosul
- Date: 25th November 2016
- Summary: BARTELLA, IRAQ (NOVEMBER 24, 2016) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF BARTELLA SKYLINE IRAQI SOLDIER IN FRONT OF ARMOURED VEHICLE IRAQI SOLDIER IN ARMOURED VEHICLE IRAQI SOLDIER LEANING ON WINDOW OF ARMOURED VEHICLE (MUTE) JOURNALISTS GATHERED AROUND COMMANDER OF COUNTER TERRORISM SERVICE, TALIB SHAGHATI (MUTE) (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) COMMANDER OF COUNTER TERRORISM SERVICE, LIEUTENANT GENERAL TALIB SHAGHATI, SAYING: "Mosul is divided into two sides, the right (western) side and the left (eastern) side (judged from the perspective north of the city). The liberation plan of the city is to encircle the two sides, but now forces are advancing in the left (eastern) side and we are controlling the larger part of it. We are also moving towards the right side to liberate it." SHAGHATI SPEAKING TO THE MEDIA (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) COMMANDER OF COUNTER TERRORISM SERVICE, LIEUTENANT GENERAL TALIB SHAGHATI, SAYING: "(Mosul) residents are co-operating with us and their cooperation is very significant. They helped provide us with information on Daesh's (Islamic State's) whereabouts, its movements and weapons. We are trying in our efforts to spare civilians from harm." SHAGHATI SPEAKING TO THE MEDIA ARMOURED VEHICLES PARKED CLOSE TO BUILDINGS
- Embargoed: 10th December 2016 10:58
- Keywords: ISIS IS Islamic State Mosul Bartella Iraqi army
- Location: BARTELLA, IRAQ
- City: BARTELLA, IRAQ
- Country: Iraq
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Military Conflicts
- Reuters ID: LVA00159Y056V
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:An Iraqi forces commander said on Thursday (November 24) anti-Islamic State forces had control of the "larger part" of the eastern side of the IS-held city of Mosul.
Speaking in the town of Bartella, 13 km (eight miles) east of Mosul, Lieutenant General Talib Shaghati said the operation to take control of the city involved attacking from both the east and west.
"The liberation plan of the city is to encircle the two sides, but now forces are advancing in the left (eastern) side and we are controlling the larger part of it. We are also moving towards the right side to liberate it," he said.
The commander was speaking as if regarding the city from the north, which is commonly how the city is considered in the region.
He added that assistance from Mosul residents has been a "significant" part of the operation.
"They helped provide us with information on Daesh's (Islamic State's) whereabouts, its movements and weapons. We are trying in our efforts to spare civilians from harm," Shaghati said.
Kurdish and Shi'ite forces near Mosul have agreed to coordinate their operations in support of a U.S-backed offensive seeking to encircle and capture Islamic State's last major urban stronghold in Iraq, U.S. and Iraqi officials said on Thursday.
The agreement will restrict the movement of the jihadists in and out of Mosul and assist the encirclement of the city from the western side, according to the officials.
It came after Iraqi Kurdish and Shi'ite fighters linked up near the Islamic State-held town of Tal Afar, west of Mosul, on Wednesday (November 23) in an advance that cut the militant group's supply route from the rest of the territory it holds in western Iraq and Syria.
The offensive to take Mosul started on October 17 with air and ground support from a U.S.-led coalition.
It is turning into the most complex campaign in Iraq since the 2003 invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.
The Iraqi military estimates there are 5,000 to 6,000 insurgents in Mosul facing a 100,000-strong coalition of Iraqi government units, Kurdish peshmerga and Shi'ite militias. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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