The Iraqi forces were able to recapture six neighborhoods in Mosul City after hitting ISIL key positions there, forcing the group to retreat towards the city center.

“Subsequent to clashes with ISIL terrorists, our Counter-Terrorism Units liberated the neighborhoods of Malayan, al-Samah, al-Khadraa, Karkukli, al-Quds and Karama,” the Iraqi Army General Command said in a statement, ARA News reported.

In the meantime, clashes continued between the Iraqi forces and ISIL militants in the al-Zahraa District of Mosul city.

Also on Friday, the Iraqi army bombed an ISIL explosives warehouse in the Hawija District and killed dozens of ISIL militants, army officer Eli Saddi told ARA News.

“Our forces also seized control of the villages Juhaina and Ghahoni after clashes with ISIL,” the officer said.

According to the Iraqi Army General Command, more than 2,000 ISIL militants have been killed since the start of the battle for Mosul on October 17th. 

The developments follow week-long battles in which ISIL has suffered numerous defeats, retreats and desertions.

While the Iraqi Army had pushed against ISIL positions from the Southeast, the Peshmerga forces have swept down from the Northeast and have expelled ISIL from more than 25 villages and towns since the start of Mosul campaign. 

According to Peshmerga officer Nechirvan Mirani, his comrades are “now only 7 km away from the city of Mosul.”

ISIL militants are now spread thin across three dynamic fronts, forcing militants in Mosul to gradually pull back into the city’s urban warrens.