Twin bombings kill 3 in Iraq’s Daesh-held city of Mosul

By Ahmed Qassim

NINEVEH, Iraq (AA) - Three Iraqi civilians were killed Thursday when the Daesh terrorist group carried out twin suicide bombings in northern Mosul, according to an Iraqi army source.

"Two suicide bombers infiltrated Mosul’s Shoqaq al-Hadba district, which since Sunday has witnessed fierce fighting between Iraqi forces and Daesh militants," Army Brigadier-General Ahmed al-Mosawi told Anadolu Agency.

He said two Daesh suicide bombers had tried to attack security personnel deployed in the area but blew themselves up prematurely -- killing three passersby -- when asked to produce identification.

Al-Mosawi added that fierce street battles remained ongoing in Shoqaq al-Hadba, where a number of Daesh militants had amassed after fleeing eastern and southeastern parts of the city.

Meanwhile, reinforcements from the Hashd al-Shaabi -- an umbrella group of pro-government Shia militias -- arrived Thursday to areas west of Mosul in advance of "liberating" the nearby Tal Afar district, Army Captain Jabbar Hasan told Anadolu Agency.

More than 100 vehicles carrying dozens of Hashd al-Shaabi fighters arrived in areas near Tal Afar on Thursday "to prepare for the sixth phase of the liberation campaign," Hasan said.

On the same day, Iraqi forces recaptured another district of southeastern Mosul, while two Iraqi troops were killed in clashes inside the city, Army Colonel Abbas al-Asadi told Anadolu Agency.

"Forces from the army’s Ninth Division, along with Federal Police personnel, have eliminated Daesh from the Sumer district," al-Asadi said.

According to the army colonel, Daesh sustained heavy losses -- both human and material -- in the fighting.

Daesh overran Mosul in mid-2014. Once considered the country’s second largest city in terms of population, it is now one of the terrorist group’s last strongholds in Iraq.

Since military operations to recapture Mosul began last October, Iraqi forces have reportedly established control over more than a quarter of the city.