90 casualties in bombings, mortar fire in Mosul

Islamic State (IS) militants on Thursday targeted civilians and Iraqi army troops in the liberated areas with suicide car bombs and mortar fire, killing at least 23 people.

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – Islamic State (IS) militants on Thursday targeted civilians and Iraqi army troops in the liberated areas with suicide car bombs and mortar fire, killing at least 23 people.

The IS extremists used four vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices (VBIEDs) targeting civilians and Iraqi forces in Gogjali, an eastern neighborhood retaken by the Iraqi army nearly two months ago.

According to the Iraqi security sources, 23 people, including soldiers, were killed and 60 others wounded when three VBIEDs were detonated in the Gogjali neighborhood, adding another car bomb was destroyed by coalition warplanes.

IS claimed responsibility for the suicide attacks on its Amaq News Agency.

A Kurdistan24 reporter at the Erbil Emergency Hospital said over 60 wounded people had arrived at the facility.

Moreover, a doctor at the hospital told Kurdistan24 there was a lot of pressure on the hospital and its staff, stating they receive wounded civilians and soldiers from Mosul on a daily basis.

Meanwhile, according to the United Nations, “Four Iraqi aid workers and at least seven civilians were killed by mortar fire this week during aid distribution in Mosul.”

Lise Grande, the UN humanitarian coordinator for Iraq, stated that “civilians waiting for aid are already vulnerable and need help; they should be protected, not attacked.”

She also urged all parties to “uphold international humanitarian law and ensure that civilians survive and receive the assistance they need.”

On Oct. 17, Iraqi and Peshmerga forces with the support of the US-led coalition warplanes launched the military operation to retake Mosul from IS.

According to the Iraqi army, out of 90 neighborhoods in the left coast of Mosul, 40 have been retaken.  

 

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany