Car-bomb kills 3 Iraqi troops south of Mosul

By Mohamed Walid and Serhad Shaker

NINEVEH, Iraq (AA) – Three Iraqi troops were killed in an attack by Daesh militants south of Mosul in northern Iraq on Saturday.

Police officer Mohamed al-Jabouri said Daesh militants staged an attack with car-bombs on Iraqi forces stationed in al-Imam village, south of Mosul.

“Three police officers were killed and four people injured when a car-bomb exploded in the village,” he told Anadolu Agency.

He said Iraqi forces, backed by U.S.-led coalition airstrikes, managed to repel the attack and force them out of the village, killing nine Daesh militants.

Iraqi forces are currently advancing on Mosul from the south and southeast and now stand only a few kilometers from Mosul’s airport, which is situated some 5 kilometers from the city center.

Units from Iraq’s anti-terrorism agency, meanwhile, remain locked in battle with Daesh in the eastern part of the city, where they have captured a number of neighborhoods.

Their progress has been hindered, however, by fierce resistance by the militants, who are using snipers and suicide bombers against advancing troops.

Last month, the Iraqi army -- backed by U.S.-led coalition airstrikes and local allies on the ground -- began a wide-ranging operation to retake Mosul, Daesh’s last bastion in northern Iraq.

Once Iraq’s second largest city in terms of population, Mosul was overrun by the terrorist group -- along with large parts of the country’s northern and western regions -- in mid-2014.

Recent months have seen the Iraqi army and its allies retake much territory, especially on Mosul’s outskirts and in the western Anbar province.