Iraq forces battle IS in Mosul

MOSUL, Iraq: Iraqi forces battled the last Islamic State group holdouts in Mosul on Wednesday, a day after the country’s premier feted the "major victory" over the terrorists in the northern city.

In neighbouring Syria, US-backed forces gained ground after air strikes by the international anti-IS coalition punched holes in the wall of the Old City in Raqa, where they are waging a parallel offensive against the terrorists.

"Today, our advance was easier than yesterday," said Lieutenant Colonel Haider Hussein, a commander in Iraq’s elite Counter-Terrorism Service. "We took control of more than 200 metres (yards) today and there are less than 200 metres remaining toward the Tigris River," Hussein said, referring to the waterway marking the eastern edge of remaining IS-held territory in the city.

More than eight months since the start of the operation, IS has gone from fully controlling Mosul to holding a limited area in the Old City on its western side. But Iraqi troops in Mosul have faced tough fighting and a spike in suicide bombings in recent days, commanders have said. The terrorists "are using a new strategy in which they wait inside houses and when the soldiers enter the houses they fire bullets or blow themselves up," Hussein said.

The body of a woman said to have been suicide bomber shot before she could blow herself earlier in the day lay in the street near the house where the officer spoke. Decaying corpses gave off a stench of death that permeated some streets, and a pool of half-dried blood spread out from the door of one house.

Streets were strewn with clothing and other objects left by civilians who were fleeing the fighting.

"The enemy is not a regular army," said Brigadier General Nabil al-Fatlawi, a CTS commander. "It’s a street to street battle," said Fatlawi, who expects the battle to be over in "a few days".

Despite the ongoing fighting, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi congratulated Iraq’s people, security forces and the  religious leadership "on the achievement of this major victory in Mosul" in remarks broadcast Tuesday night.