Battling IS, Iraq troops reach bank of Tigris River in Mosul
BAGHDAD — Iraqi troops in Mosul have battled their way to the Tigris River running through the centre of town, marking a milestone in the nearly three-month-old offensive aimed at reclaiming the northern city from Islamic State militants.
Lt. Gen. Abdul-Amir Rasheed Yar Allah said special forces reached the river late Sunday and now control the eastern side of one of the city’s five bridges, all of which have been disabled by U.S.-led airstrikes in support of the offensive.
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said the recent advances were “big achievements for all the factions of the Iraqi security forces.”
“Thank God, our forces are liberating neighbourhood after neighbourhood,” he said Monday in a joint press conference with his Jordanian counterpart in Baghdad.