Heavy clashes in Mosul as Iraqi troops advance
Fighting continued on Wednesday in the al-Salam neighbourhood, where the IS militants were said to have been using the five-storey hospital, reported Press TV.
Baghdad, Dec 8: Fierce clashes have erupted in war-torn Mosul as Iraqi forces made gains against Islamic State (IS) militants deep inside the northern city, media reported on Thursday.
Fighting continued on Wednesday in the al-Salam neighbourhood, where the IS militants were said to have been using the five-storey hospital, reported Press TV.
Three
Iraqi
soldiers
were
killed
and
40
others
sustained
injuries
in
IS
attacks
on
Wednesday,
said
an
unnamed
military
source.
"We
advanced
in
al-Salam
district
but
the
situation
is
difficult,
there
is
heavy
fighting,"
said
Iraqi
Brigadier
General
Shaker
Kadhem,
adding,
"We
took
control
of
al-Salam
Hospital,
which
was
a
command
center
for
the
IS
group."
The Iraqi Army's 9th Armoured Division announced the recapture of al-Salam Hospital in eastern Mosul.
Meanwhile, the IS-affiliated Amaq news agency reported that the jihadis carried out five car bombings in the al-Salam area over the past 24 hours.
The Iraqi Federal Police also confirmed several car bombings in the flashpoint district around al-Salam Hospital.
The Iraqi forces also liberated eight villages in northern Mosul from the grip of IS militants on Wednesday. The special forces further managed to wrest control of the al-Elam neighbourhood in eastern Mosul.
Till now, more than 82,000 people have been displaced by the Mosul offensive, said the United Nations.
IANS