Iraqi forces retake eastern Mosul, fate of civilians in western side worrying

Fire fighters try to extinguish the fire at oil wells, which were set on fire by Daesh terrorists as they fled after Al Qayyarah Town's cleansing from Daesh militants as the operation to retake Iraq's Mosul from Daesh continues, in Al Qayyarah Town of Mosul, Nineveh, Iraq on January 25, 2017. [Photo/IC]

MOSUL, Iraq - Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared on Tuesday the eastern side of the city of Mosul was fully liberated after more than 100 days of fighting against the militants of the Islamic State (IS) extremist group.

Following the liberation of eastern Mosul, al-Abadi promised to retake the western part of the city, where an estimated 750,000 people are still living under the control of IS militants.

MAJOR ACHIEVEMENT FOR IRAQI FORCES

Addressing a press conference in Baghdad, al-Abadi praised the "heroic forces and the unity of all Iraqis."

"The heroism of our security forces was behind Daesh's defeat," al-Abadi said, using the Arabia acronym of the IS.

"This is a major achievement for the Iraqi forces," al-Abadi said, adding "We have proved that Daesh is shrinking and disappearing."

In addition, a military statement said that the army soldiers liberated the eastern Mosul after they swept the remaining areas left in the hands of IS militants in the northern outskirts of the eastern bank of the city.8 The troops, backed by the U.S.-led coalition and Iraqi aircraft, freed the neighborhood of Rashidiyah and the nearby villages of Ba'wiza, Baysan and Shrikhan after heavy clashes with IS militants, leaving dozens of them killed and destroying eight car bombs, according to a statement from the Joint Operations Command.

The troops also killed two suicide bombers, shot down five unmanned drones carrying bombs and destroyed three vehicles carrying heavy machine guns, the statement said.

On Oct. 17, 2016, al-Abadi announced the start of a major offensive to retake Mosul, the country's second largest city and IS militants' last major urban stronghold in Iraq.

The second phase of the offensive to free the eastern bank of Mosul began on Dec. 29.

Mosul, 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.