By Ali Jawad and Ahmed Qassim
ANKARA (AA) – Iraqi forces have captured the main government complex in western Mosul amid a major operation to oust Daesh terrorist group from the northern city, according to a top army commander.
“[Iraqi forces] have liberated the main government complex of Nineveh province,” Lieutenant-General Abdul-Amir Yarallah, commander of the Mosul operation, said in a televised statement on Tuesday.
Military officer Jabbar Hassan said Iraqi forces launched a dawn offensive during which they seized control of the government building in western Mosul.
“Our forces have advanced along the Tigris River and captured al-Horeya Bridge, which links western Mosul to the city’s eastern part,” he told Anadolu Agency.
Meanwhile, Iraqi forces have fully captured al-Tayaran district, where the Turkish consulate is located, from Daesh militants, military sources told Anadolu Agency, requesting anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to media.
In mid-February, Iraqi forces -- backed by a U.S.-led air coalition -- began fresh operations aimed at purging Daesh terrorists from western Mosul.
The offensive came as part of a wider campaign launched last October to retake the entire city, which Daesh overran -- along with much of northern and western Iraq -- in mid-2014.