Joint forces cut main ISIS supply road from Syria
Iraqi army forces. File photo.
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) Commanders at the Iraqi government forces said Sunday they blocked a main road from Mosul to Syria as troops continue to retake more ground at the eastern section of the city.
A spokesperson of the Joint Operations Command, Yahia Rasoul, said in statements on Sunday that military troops imposed control over the “western road” linking the city to the Syrian territories, and took control of the largest portion of the eastern side of the city.
“Counter-terrorism forces are positioned in the eastern shore, having recaptured 25 neighborhoods, and only a few remains to clear the whole side from terrorists,” Rasoul said.
Bassem al-Hamadani, a Colonel within the JOC’s Nineveh Operations, told UK-based Al-Araby al-Jadeed that the “civilians ISIS are taking as human shields remain the biggest challenge facing our troops,” adding that only 35% of the eastern side of Mosul is yet to be liberated from the group.
Iraqi government forces, assisted by popular militias, Kurdish troops and US-led air forces continue a major operation that launched mid October to retake Mosul, ISIS’s last stronghold in Iraq.
Generals are admitting that the existence of civilians inside battlefields slows down troops advancement towards the eastern shore of Tigris River, which divides the city. ISIS remains in control of most of the western side, adjacent to the Syrian borders, but Iraqi government and militias leaderships say they have blocked strategic supply routes to the extremist group from Syria.