Iraqi forces close in on Tigris in Mosul

The advances came as Turkey and Iraq reach an agreement over a demand for the withdrawal of Turkish forces from an area close to Mosul.

Lieutenant General Talib Shaghati, (centre) inspect a map with officers in Al Zuhoor neighborhood during a fight with Islamic State in Mosul, Iraq, January 7, 2017. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad

MOSUL, BAGHDAD // Iraqi special forces closed in on the Tigris river that runs through central Mosul on Saturday, advancing in parallel with other troops and forcing ISIL to retreat in its last major stronghold in the country.

Turkey and Iraq meanwhile came to an agreement over a demand for the withdrawal of Turkish forces from an area close to Mosul, Baghdad said, as the two regional powers sought to improve ties after a spat last year over Ankara’s military deployment.

Turkey’s prime minister did not say a deal had been reached, but that the issue was discussed and would be resolved.

The progress in Mosul came as ISIL was beaten back on two front in Syria. An alliance of Arab and Kurdish fighters backed by US special forces on Friday moved to within four kilometres of the ISIL-held Tabqa dam, about 50km west of the extremist’s bastion, Raqqa. And opposition fighters backed by Turkey are preparing for an assault on the town of Al Bab — ISIL’s westernmost stronghold.

The gains made in Mosul by Iraqi forces in recent days, including Saturday’s push to within several hundred metres of the Tigris, involved an unprecedented night-time assault by elite forces and have driven the extremist group out of several areas east of the river.

The US-backed operation to drive ISIL out of Mosul, which began in October, initially progressed well before slowing towards the end of the year amid fierce resistance and the presence of large numbers of civilians. It has picked up momentum again in a new phase launched last week.

Counter-terrorism service forces were the closest they had been to the Tigris inside Mosul and closing in on a strategic bridge, supported by new tactics and better coordination, their spokesman said.

“Counter-terrorism forces have been sent about 500m from the fourth bridge,” Sabah Al Numan said.

The counter-terrorism forces seized the Ghufran district, previously known as Al Baath, and entered neighbouring Wahda, he said.

A separate military statement said Iraqi federal police had recaptured a hospital complex in Wahda in south-eastern Mosul, a significant turnaround after army units were forced to withdraw from the site last month.

The counter-terrorism forces and federal police “are now moving in parallel on both axes” in south-eastern Mosul, Mr Numan said.

“We are proceeding side by side ... and advancing at the same level. This is a very important factor, thanks to which Daesh has not been able to move its fighters. It has to support one axis at the expense of another.

Friday’s night-time operation, launched after a week of planning, had been a particular success, Numan said.

Counter-terrorism using night-vision equipment crossed the Khosr river, a tributary that runs perpendicular to the Tigris through eastern Mosul, via makeshift earth bridges after ISIL had destroyed permanent ones, he said.

Air strikes from the US-led coalition sped that advance into Muthanna district.

The counter-terrorism and federal police are part of a 100,000-strong Iraqi force made up of the military, Kurdish fighters and Shiite militias, backed by US-led air power.

Some Sunni Muslim and Kurdish peshmerga units have been trained by Turkish forces stationed at the Bashiqa camp north-east of Mosul.

Turkey’s military presence in northern Iraq since well before the Mosul campaign has angered Baghdad, and the two countries traded barbs over the issue in October shortly before it began.

Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi said Baghdad reached an agreement with Ankara on Saturday over Iraq’s request that Turkish forces withdraw from Bashiqa.

He gave no details of the deal, which he announced during a visit to Baghdad by Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim. Turkey agreed to “respect the sovereignty of Iraq”, and Baghdad and Ankara agreed not to interfere in each other’s domestic affairs, he said.

Mr Yildirim said at a news conference with Mr Al Abadi: “We discussed the issue of Bashiqa.

“We see that significant progress is being made in cleansing Daesh from the region. In line with this we will solve this [Bashiqa] subject in some way in a friendly way.”

* Reuters