Iraqi forces, coalition launch campaign against remaining IS cells in Mosul

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – The Iraqi Defense Ministry on Tuesday announced the launch of a military campaign with the support of the US-led coalition to clear a remote area of southern Mosul from remaining Islamic State (IS) sleeper cells.

In a statement posted to its Facebook page, the Defense Ministry said a military operation had been launched to hunt down “remnants of the terrorist group in the Mukhtar Islands based on accurate intelligence and support from the international coalition forces.”

The area is located in the southern region of Mosul on the banks of the Tigris river and has seen a wave of random attacks claimed by IS militants still hiding despite their military defeat late last year.

In December 2017, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared “final victory” over the extremist group in the country, but officials warn IS will resort to their traditional tactics of random bombings, assassinations, and suicide attacks in crowded areas.

Meanwhile, the bodies of dead civilians and IS members remain in the streets of Mosul’s Old City, which residents say is disturbing their lives and impeding the return of displaced persons.

“Over 450 bodies have been removed from the rubble, and hundreds of them are still under rubble,” the director of the municipality of Mosul, Abdul Sattar al-Habbo, told AFP.

Removing the bodies is becoming increasingly difficult because of mines and explosive devices that have not been dismantled yet by security forces, Habbo added.

Medical sources warn that the decomposing bodies will “pollute air and water” if they are not removed, and it may become impossible to purify the water because refineries in the area have been destroyed during the nine-month-long battle in Mosul.