The demise of ISIS? Jihadi's hide as Iraqi troops reclaim ANOTHER part of western Mosul
ISLAMIC State militants are running scared as Iraqi troops have dominated another district in western Mosul, it has been confirmed.
Iraqi forces celebrate and patrol the streets of western Mosul forcing ISIS militants to hide
Jihadi’s were forced to seek shelter in the al-Shifa neighbourhood near Old City, which is the last ISIS stronghold in western Mosul, as Iraqi forces killed three ISIS snipers and took control of major alleyways and streets in the district.
Major Ali Mohsen, from the Iraqi Federal Police service, told Iraqi media that security troops had taken over 50 per cent of the neighbourhood.
The enemy is on the brink of total defeat in Mosul
He reportedly said forces had opened fire at a school in the same district where jihadi militants were trying to protect themselves.
Iraqi forces launched their US-backed mission to oust the terror group months ago, and have now dominated all but a few districts in the western half of Mosul.
Iraqi forces capture unused ISIS car packed with explosives
US Air Force Colonel John Dorrian told a news conference last month: "The enemy is on the brink of total defeat in Mosul."
The troops reclaimed the district hours after they launched the operation in the al-Shifa district, the Defence Ministry’s War Media Cell confirmed.
In a bid to destabilise the jihadi network, the Iraqi army’s 9th division first recaptured the near the Grand Nuri Mosque, where ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi initially announced the group’s rule in 2014.
Smoke billows from behind a mosque as Iraqi forces work to blast ISIS militants
Damaged cars which were caught up in the brutal battle against ISIS
Two weeks ago, ISIS reportedly moved their headquarters south, within Mosul, in a bid to hide from Iraqi forces.
A local source insisted, senior jihadi militants fled Mosul, and ordered curfews on specific roads which enabled them to flee the city.
The news follows reports that al-Baghdadi who has been in hiding for months was reportedly killed on Saturday.
Syrian State TV claimed Baghdadi was blasted in a huge air strike dropped in Raqqa, Syria.