Coalition airstrikes demolish old Mosul bridge completely
Aerial view of Mosul bridges bombed by US-led fighter jets.
“International coalition jets completely destroyed the old metal bridge linking the eastern and western shores,” said the source, explaining that the latest strike means that all of the five bridges linking the two sections were completely destroyed.
Coalition jets had only inflicted damage on the last old bridge in the last strike in November, with coalition commanders saying the strike was only meant to render the bridge unusable.
The bridge, which was constructed British occupation, is the city’s oldest, and Islamic State militants resorted recently to booby-trap it to stymie advancement by Iraqi security troops.
On friday, the Defense Ministry’s War Media Cell said the number of districts recaptured from ISIS since operations launched mid October has so far reached at least 24.
Military and police commanders said recently that government forces became in control of nearly 50 percent of the eastern section of Mosul. ISIS remains in control of most of the western region adjacent to the group’s strongholds in Syria, but Iraqi security commanders and Al-Hashd al-Shaabi militia leaders say they had managed to cut ISIS’s supply and escape routes to and from Syria.