Iraqi forces recapture neighborhood from IS in western Mosul

Iraqi forces battling Islamic State (IS) militants in the western side of Mosul retook control of a neighborhood after heavy clashes with the extremist militants on Thursday, the Iraq military said.

The elite forces, known as Counter Terrorism Service (CTS), completely liberated al-Yarmouk neighborhood in west of Mosul's old city center after days of fierce clashes against the extremist militants, Lt. Gen. Abdul-Amir Yarallah, from the Joint Operations Command (JOC), said in a statement.

The recapture of the neighborhood is part of slow advance that included the adjacent neighborhoods of Aabar and Matahin, as the troops are pushing toward the western edge of Mosul's densely populated old city center, where hundreds of thousands of civilians are believed to still be trapped under IS rule.

Meanwhile, the international coalition aircraft, based on Iraq intelligence reports, conducted an airstrike on an IS headquarters of suicide bombers in July 17 neighborhood north of the western side of Mosul, the JOC said.

The airstrike destroyed the headquarters and killed dozens of the group's militants and some of its foreign leaders, including Saudi, Australian and French nationals, according to the statement.

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