ISIS update 5/17/2017...The end of ISIS in Mosul is imminent

The end of ISIS in Mosul is imminent

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An Iraqi Army official in Nineveh province said he expects full liberation of the Western side of Mosul by Friday.

“Iraqi troops managed to retake most regions and districts in Western Mosul from the ISIL terrorists,” an Iraqi army commander told Sputnik, expecting the whole region to be freed by Friday.

In a statement earlier on Tuesday, Federal Police Chief Lt. Gen. Shaker Jawdat announced that his troops were in control of 80 percent of Iqtisidayeen and 17 Tamuz (July 17th) districts, in addition to eight other pivotal targets that were previously retaken.

“The troops shelled ISIL’s defense lines as well as their headquarters North of the Old City and killed dozens of the militants. Fifteen sq/ km were freed, 168 booby-trapped vehicles were destroyed, 200 landmines were removed while 24 bombs were defused,” he added.

“Six families detained by ISIL in 17 Tamuz were freed. They were kept for several days inside one of the houses with the doors locked and the house booby-trapped to prevent them escape,” he added.

“The total number of families evacuated from battlefields have reached 850 so far since the start of the last phase of military operations in Western Mosul on May 6,” Jawdat said.

In a press conference, the Joint Operations Command declared on Tuesday controlling 89.5 percent of Western Mosul and killing 16,467 members of the ISIL since beginning of operations in Western Mosul.

Iraqi commanders had predicted recapturing the remaining parts of the city this month.

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Large-Scale Battle among Rival Terrorist Groups Imminent in Northwestern Syria

Media sources reported that rival terrorist groups in Idlib are getting ready to engage in a large-scale battle after reports came out about the Turkish Army’s military intervention in the province.

The sources said that simultaneous with the attacks of Tahrir al-Sham Hay’at (the Levant Liberation Board) on Ahrar al-Sham’s positions in Idlib province and the reports about a possible military meddling of the Turkish army in the province, the Idlib city has now come on the verge of a large-scale battle between the two rival groups.

The sources said Tahrir al-Sham has announced that its forces seized control over several sites of Ahrar al-Sham in Saraqib, around Ma’arat al-Nu’aman, Ma’arat Mesrin, Sarmin and in the slopes of al-Rawj plain from Sinjar direction, while both Tahrir al-Sham and Ahrar al-Sham have deployed their heavy arms in the conflict-prone regions, mainly in Western and Northern countryside of Idlib.

Media sources close to Ahrar al-Sham, meantime, said that the group’s field commanders have started reinvigorating their defense lines in the region.

Based on the sources, border regions with Turkey, including Harm, Darkoush and Salqin are more prone to intensifying clashes between Tahrir al-Sham and Ahrar al-Sham.

They added that Tahrir al-Sham has also started carrying out precautionary measures near the border with Turkey to be ready to face the Turkish army’s meddling to back up Ahrar al-Sham or other pro-Ankara militant groups.

Ahrar al-Sham has fortified its positions near several border passageways and its forces are on red alert in several strategic regions.

Tahrir al-Sham’s units have started patrolling in main streets in Idlib city, arresting a number of pro-Ahrar al-Sham and their allies.

Local sources reported on Saturday that simultaneous with the eruption of a fresh round of clashes with Ahrar al-Sham, the representatives of Tahrir al-Sham Hay’at traveled to Turkey to persuade the Turkish Army not to back up the rival terrorist group of Ahrar al-Sham in Northwestern Syria.

The sources said that while a number of senior members of Tahrir al-Sham Hay’at were in Turkey to negotiate about an imminent meddling of the Turkish army in Idlib, the terrorist group increased the number of its checkpoints in Idlib province.

The sources added that Tahrir al-Sham felt much worried about an operation of the Turkish army in support of Ahrar al-Sham rival group and, hence, called on Ahrar al-Sham to pull out its forces from Western Idlib in 48 hours.

A local source in the town of Kafr Takharim said that Tahrir al-Sham established a large number of checkpoints along the road connecting Idlib to the town of Salqin, erected walls and other forms of entanglement and deployed military vehicles behind them to enhance its defense capabilities.

Tahrir al-Sham, meantime, planted a large number of land mines near the entanglements.

The source further added that Tahrir al-Sham did not allow any group to carry missiles and arrested a number of militants on charges of assisting Ahrar al-Sham.

Farsnews

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