Daesh still retains parts of E. Mosul: Army commander

By Serhad Shaker and Mohamed Walid

NINEVEH, Iraq (AA) - The Daesh terrorist group still holds several parts of eastern Mosul, an Iraqi military commander said Monday.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Army Brigadier-General Mozafar al-Ramdani said Iraqi forces had yet to "liberate" a handful of neighborhoods in the city’s eastern half.

"This represents a source of concern for those in liberated parts of the city," he said.

Mosul is currently the target of a wide-ranging Iraqi army offensive aimed at recapturing the city -- once considered the country’s second largest in terms of population -- from the terrorist group.

Late last month, the Iraqi army announced the "total liberation" of eastern Mosul after three months of fighting.

According to al-Ramdani, an anti-terrorism officer, top Iraqi security officials will soon meet to discuss the deteriorating security condition in a number of captured areas.

Army Brigadier-General Mothana al-Helali, for his part, said Daesh militants were now using parts of eastern Mosul still under their control to carry out car-bomb attacks on army-held parts of the city.

He added that two soldiers had been killed on Sunday in an attack carried out from Daesh-held parts of eastern Mosul.

Daesh overran the northern city of Mosul -- along with vast swathes of northern and western Iraq -- in 2014.