Roundup: Iraqi forces retake last town south of Mosul

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

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 assault on Hammam al-Alil, which began around 10:00 a.m.(0700 GMT), targeted a force of at least 70 Islamic State fighters there.

Some militants had tried to escape across the river, although others put up heavy resistance and the troops had thwarted three attempted suicide car bombings.

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

Later on, the troops started a 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 advanced toward the southern edges of Mosul, he said.

The fall of Hammam al-Alil, the last town 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) were 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 troops 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.

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

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, speaking on a visit to the eastern front, said he brought "a message to the residents inside Mosul who are hostages in the hands of Daesh (Islamic State) -- we will liberate you soon."

Abadi said progress in the nearly three-week-old campaign, and the advance into Mosul itself, had been faster than expected. But in the face of fierce resistance, which included suicide car bombings, sniper fire and roadside bombs, he suggested that progress may be intermittent.

"Our heroic forces will not retreat and will not be broken. Maybe in the face of terrorist acts, criminal acts, there will be some delay," he said.

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 a recent report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

"Most of the new arrivals (in 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, the Iraqi prime minister 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. Endi