BAGHDAD: Iraqi commanders said Saturday their forces are “tens of meters” away from defeating Daesh in Mosul, a day after a major counterattack by the militants.
The Joint Operations Command said: “Our units are still continuing to advance... Not much is left before our forces reach the Tigris River.”
It issued a statement saying that 35 Daesh members were killed and six captured when they tried to escape “the advance of our forces” in Mosul’s Old City.
Daesh members, who have vowed to “fight to the death,” hold less than 1 square kilometer of territory, but are using civilians as human shields, making it nearly impossible for US-led warplanes to flush them out.
A group of terrorists tried to escape across the river from west Mosul where they hold a dwindling pocket of territory, but were killed by Iraqi forces, a senior commander said.
“Some of them tried to cross to... the far bank (of the river), but we have forces there,” said Staff Lt. Gen. Abdulghani Al-Assadi, a senior commander in Iraq’s elite Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS).
The terrorists wanted to go back, but security forces “fired on them and killed them,” he said, without specifying how many died.
“We are seeing now the last meters and then final victory will be announced,” a presenter said, citing correspondents embedded with security forces. “It’s a matter of hours,” she added.
A US general said Iraqi authorities will imminently announce a final victory. “An announcement is imminent,” Baghdad-based Brig. Gen. Robert Sofge said. “I don’t want to speculate if it’s today (Saturday) or tomorrow , but I think it’s going to be very soon,” he added.
Dozens of Iraqi soldiers celebrated amid the rubble on the banks of the Tigris without waiting for a formal victory declaration, some dancing to music blaring out from a truck and firing machine guns into the air.
Baghdad operations commander Maj. Gen. Jalil Al-Rubaie said in a statement that action will be taken against those who fired shots in the air during celebrations. Al-Rubaie said that shooters will be brought to justice.
The mood was less festive, however, among some of the nearly 1 million Mosul residents, many of whom are living in camps outside the city with little respite from the blazing summer heat.
“If there is no rebuilding and people don’t return to their homes and regain their belongings, what is the meaning of liberation?” Mohammed Haji Ahmed, 43, a clothing trader, said in the Hassan Sham camp to the east of Mosul.
Meanwhile, Iraq’s regional Kurdish leader said this week that the government in Baghdad had failed to prepare a post-battle political, security and governance plan.
Iraqi forces are just ‘tens of meters’ from retaking Mosul
Iraqi forces are just ‘tens of meters’ from retaking Mosul
Palestinian health ministry says 4 killed in Israeli West Bank strike
RAMALLAH: The Palestinian health ministry said Thursday that an Israeli air strike on a car killed four Palestinians and wounded three near the occupied West Bank city of Tulkarem.
The ministry announced that the Palestinians were killed “as a result of the (Israeli) bombing of a vehicle in Tulkarem camp,” which the Israeli army did not immediately confirm to AFP.
Turkiye, Iran leaders at Muslim summit in Cairo
- Relations between Egypt and Iran have been strained for decades, but diplomatic contacts have intensified since Cairo became a mediator in the war in Gaza
CAIRO: The leaders of Turkiye and Iran were in Egypt on Thursday for a summit of eight Muslim-majority countries, meeting for the first time since the ouster of Syria’s president Bashar Assad.
Turkiye historically backed the opposition to Assad, while Iran supported his rule.
The gathering of the D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation, also known as the Developing-8, was being held against a backdrop of regional turmoil including the conflict in Gaza, a fragile ceasefire in Lebanon and unrest in Syria.
In a speech to the summit, Turkiye’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for unity and reconciliation in Syria, urging “the restoration of Syria’s territorial integrity and unity.”
He also voiced hope for “the establishment of a Syria free of terrorism,” where “all religious sects and ethnic groups live side by side in peace.”
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian urged action to address the crises in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria, saying that it is a “religious, legal and human duty to prevent further harm” to those suffering in these conflict zones.
Pezeshkian, who arrived in Cairo on Wednesday, is the first Iranian president to visit Egypt since Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who visited in 2013.
Relations between Egypt and Iran have been strained for decades, but diplomatic contacts have intensified since Cairo became a mediator in the war in Gaza.
Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi visited Egypt in October, while his Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdelatty traveled to Tehran in July to attend Pezeshkian’s inauguration.
Ahead of the summit, the Iranian top diplomat said he hoped it would “send a strong message to the world that the Israeli aggressions and violations in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria” would end “immediately.”
Erdogan was in Egypt earlier this year, and discussed with President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi economic cooperation as well as regional conflicts.
Established in 1997, the D-8 aims to foster cooperation among member states, spanning regions from Southeast Asia to Africa.
The organization includes Egypt, Turkiye, Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Malaysia as member states.
Iraq begins repatriating Syrian soldiers amid border security assurances
DUBAI: Iraq has begun the process of returning Syrian soldiers to their home country, according to state media reports on Wednesday.
Lt. Gen. Qais Al-Muhammadawi, deputy commander of joint operations, emphasized the robust security measures in place along Iraq’s borders with Syria.
“Our borders are fortified and completely secure,” he said, declaring that no unauthorized crossings would be permitted.
Muhammadawi said that all border crossings with Syria are under tight control, stating: “We will not allow a terrorist to enter our territory.”
Turkiye won’t halt Syria military activity until Kurd fighters ‘disarm’
ISTANBUL: Turkiye will push ahead with its military preparations until Kurdish fighters “disarm,” a defense ministry source said Thursday as the nation faces an ongoing threat along its border with northern Syria.
“Until the PKK/YPG terrorist organization disarms and its foreign fighters leave Syria, our preparations and measures will continue within the scope of the fight against terrorism,” the source said.
Hamas says Israeli strikes in Yemen ‘dangerous development’
GAZA: Palestinian militant group Hamas said Thursday that Israel’s strikes in Yemen after the Houthi rebels fired a missile at the country were a “dangerous development.”
“We regard this escalation as a dangerous development and an extension of the aggression against our Palestinian people, Syria and the Arab region,” Hamas said in a statement as Israel struck ports and energy infrastructure in Yemen after intercepting a missile attack by the Houthis.
