Iraqi forces enter last town in south of Mosul

Iraqi security forces on Saturday advancing north along the Tigris River towards Mosul recaptured the last town in south of the city, as battles continued against Islamic State (IS) militants in the eastern part of Mosul, a security source said.

The Iraqi army and federal police entered the town of Hammam al-Alil, some 15 km south of Mosul, after heavy clashes with IS militants in the town, Lieutenant General Abul-Amir Yarallah from the Joint Operations Command (JOC) told reporters.

The troops recaptured the local government building around noon and raised the Iraqi flag on the building, Yarallah said.

Later on, the troops started clearing operation in the town as sporadic clashes continued in some small pockets of IS militants in the town, Yarallah said, adding that the troops also started to defuse many landmines and booby traps planted earlier by the extremist IS group.

Also in the day, the federal police forces advanced to the village of Tal al-Dhahab, just northeast of Hammam al-Alil, as part of their troops advance toward the southern edges of Mosul, he said.

The fall of Hammam al-Alil, the last town in south of Mosul, is expected to speed up the advance of the security forces, who have to recapture a few villages on their way toward Mosul, he added.

Fighting continued inside the eastern side of Mosul as the commandos of the Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) are fighting fierce clashes with IS militants in the residential areas in an attempt to push deeper into the city, but the IS militants showed stubborn resistance, a source from the Operations Command of Nineveh Liberation told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

Meanwhile, the troops carried out search operations to clear the districts which were recaptured the day before in eastern Mosul, the source said.

On Friday, hundreds of the CTS commandos and Iraqi army made a significant progress in the morning at the eastern side of Mosul, and managed to seize the districts of Aden, Samah, Karkukli, al-Khadraa, al-Ikhaa and al-Quds, a source from the STC told Xinhua.

Friday advance unleashed the most intense street battles against IS militants since the offensive to retake the city began nearly three weeks ago.

The battles inside Mosul pushed the number of civilians who were displaced from their homes to around 30,000 since the start of the military offensive on Oct. 17, according to the recent report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

"Most of the new arrivals (to displaced camps) came from Gogjali and other suburbs on the eastern outskirts of Mosul, which saw heavy clashes three days ago and are now under the control of the Iraqi Security Forces," the report said.

On Oct. 17, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced the start of a major offensive to retake Mosul, the country's second largest city.

Since then, the Iraqi security forces have inched to the eastern fringes of Mosul and made progress on other routes around the city, preparing for a major battle to storm the city and drive out IS militants.

Mosul, some 400 km north of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, has been under IS control since June 2014, when Iraqi government forces abandoned their weapons and fled, enabling IS militants to take control of parts of Iraq's northern and western regions. Endit