Iraqi forces enter Qadisiyah neighborhood, northeastern Mosul

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – Iraqi counter-terrorism forces have entered the second neighborhood of Qadisiyah, located in the northeast of Mosul, said a security official on Friday.

The head of the security commission of Nineveh Province Mohammed Ibrahim told Iraqi local news outlets that the counter-terrorism troops had stormed the second Qadisiyah quarter located ahead of al-Zahra neighborhoods in the northeast of the city.

On Friday evening, the forces announced the liberation of the area from IS. Iraqi security forces have stated that the Islamic State (IS) uses civilians as war shields which prevents the forces from advancing faster.

The Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) planted by IS also slows down the process of liberating the areas, according to Iraqi and Peshmerga forces commanders.

Recently, Kurdish Peshmerga forces fully liberated the town of Bashiqa in the northeast of Mosul after a two-years occupation by the jihadist group.

IS occupied Mosul, the second-largest city in Iraq in June 2014. The group quickly expanded to some provinces including Nineveh, Diyala, Salahaddin, and Anbar. Since then, the group has lost large swaths of territory to the Kurdish and other fighters and has continued to shrink.

Iraqi and Kurdish forces launched Mosul operation on October 17 from the east of the city. So far, the jihadist group has been pressed from almost all sides of the city, including north, east, south and southwest.

The operation is supported by the US-led coalition warplanes, which continuously target IS positions inside Mosul. The Coalition mentioned on Thursday that since the launch of Mosul offensive, 1,363 IS militants have been killed.

Editing by Ava Homa