Iraqi forces defeat IS attack in south Mosul, detonate four car bombs
Islamic State (IS) on Sunday attacked an Iraqi military base in the town of Hamam al-Alil located south of Mosul. According to Iraqi federal police, four IS suicide bombers died after Iraqi forces suppressed the attack.
MOSUL, Iraq (Kurdistan24) – Islamic State (IS) on Sunday attacked an Iraqi military base in the town of Hamam al-Alil located south of Mosul. According to Iraqi federal police, four IS suicide bombers died after Iraqi forces suppressed the attack.
The IS militants, traveling south from Mosul, infiltrated through a village called al-Reej, where Iraqi forces have set up a base.
“Da’esh [IS] stormed the base with four suicide car bombs, but Iraqi federal police forces detonated them before they could make it to the base,” informed Federal Police Chief Shaker Jawdat in a statement.
Watch the moment IS attacks the military base (Kurdish commentary):
The troops successfully repelled the attack with the support of Iraqi airstrikes, a source from the federal police told Kurdistan24.
According to the source, the militants are believed to have come from West Mosul and targeted al-Reej and al-Mustaqib villages located north of Hamam al-Alil.
On Feb. 19, 2017, Iraqi security forces launched the military operation to liberate the western part of Mosul from the extremist group, which has been under the control of IS since June 2014. Iraqi forces freed Hamam al-Alil fourth months earlier, in November 2016.
Although the offensive is ongoing, the advance of Iraqi troops has slowed down in the past few weeks due to the increase in civilian casualties. The narrow streets of the neighborhoods in the western side of the city have also limited the mobility of Iraqi military vehicles in the area.
Editing by G. H. Renaud