Iraqi forces storm two new districts and kill dozens of extremists

Iraqi air force destroyed the so-called “Money House” related to ISIS extremist group, killing a number of the group’s prominent leaders in the western side of Mousl. The media cell of the Iraqi army announced that the troops stormed the districts of Somood and Tel Al Roman, saying that they cleaned their buildings from the extremist elements and killed over 40 extremists. It also added that they destroyed dozens of explosives and shells possessed by the extremists.

The cell added, in a statement, that Iraqi forces recaptured a district in western Mosul on Monday from Islamic State militants and stormed another one on their way towards central Mosul’s Old City, the security command said in a statement.

The army’s elite Counter-Terrorism Forces recaptured al-Sumoud district before storming the nearby al-Mansour, Lt.Gen. Abdel Amir Yar Allah, commander of the Nineveh operations, said in a statement.

Old Mosul is a major target for U.S.-backed Iraqi forces seeking to clear the western side of the city from militants. It is home of a government compound, the recapture of which is believed to be highly decisive in ending the campaign in the government forces’ favor. Shortly earlier, news reports quoted security officials saying the forces took over a major bridge leading to the Old City.

Mosul fell to IS militants in 2014, and had been proclaimed as the capital of the group’s “Islamic Caliphate” before Iraqi forces retook the eastern part late January. Iraqi and coalition generals had predicted the city to be retaken within six months from the start of the operations in the west.

On its hand, Iraq’s military intelligence Directorate revealed the destruction of ISIS Money House killing a number of prominent leaders of the extremist group, as the most of them carry the Turkish citizenship, as the air force executed a number of raids against strongholds in the western side of Mousl.

The directorate added that the Iraqi forces launched their raids upon the information they received over the existence of the group’s leaders in the area, saying that the leaders from different countries.

On his hand, Iraqi Federal Police on Sunday stormed ISIS district which comprises the governmental buildings in the right bank of Mosul.
Commander of the Iraq Federal Police Forces Lieutenant General Raed Shaker Jawdat said the storming comes as part of operations to retake the western bank of Mosul from ISIS militants which have been controlling the city since June 2014.
Jawdat said the operation was carried out under intensive artillery and rocket shelling to hunt down ISIS militants.

On the other hand, Iraqi Parliament Speaker Salim al-Jabouri called for raising the issue of targeting Iraqi civilians in the right bank of the Mosul city by ISIS terrorist group to the United Nations.
In statements on Sunday, he said that ISIS is using prohibited weapons including chemical weapons, adding that the terrorist group is also using innocent people as human shields.
He called on launching an urgent and immediate probe into ISIS violations.

Jabouri also urged the Iraqi government and the international community to give more attention to the displaced people file. He also called on the US-led coalition to avoid shelling civilians and their residential areas while shelling the positions of the terrorist group.

On February the 19th, the Iraqi Army launched a massive offensive to retake the right bank of Mosul after they have fully controlled the eastern part of the city in late December.