45 Islamic State fighters killed in airstrikes east, west of Mosul: army
Coalition aircraft while conducting airstrikes against IS in Iraq
The Iraqi defense ministry’s War Media Cell said airstrikes by Iraqi jets, carried out upon intelligence information, killed 25 militants and destroyed several pieces of weapons used by the group in six districts in eastern Mosul.
It added that aircraft from the US-led international military coalition also killed 20 extremists in the village of al-Abra, near the western strategic town of Tal Afar.
Iraqi government forces, backed by US-led international forces and popular militias, have been carrying out a major campaign since October to retake Mosul from Islamic State militants who captured the city in 2014. Security officials say they currently control nearly 70 percent of the eastern section.
The army forces said Monday they reached the eastern bank of the Tigris River, which divides the city into two sections. IS still maintain strongholds in the west near the borders with Syria.
Earlier on Monday, Al-Hashd ak-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces), Shia militias fighting IS with the Iraqi government, said they had foiled a attack by the group and killed 10 militants in western Mosul.