“After that we will move on to west Mosul.”

The announcement comes three months after Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) began the battle to retake the city, which has been under the control of militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) for more than two-and-a-half years. Army Lt. Gen. Talib Shaghati, who commands the Iraqi counter-terrorism forces, says the success of the Iraqi forces is “unprecedented.”

The advance — more than three months since the operation to free Mosul started in October — comes following Iraqi troops’ push over the past days in the last IS-held neighborhoods in Mosul’s east, closing in on the Tigris River that roughly divides the city. Also, some commanders on the ground disputed Shaghati’s claim of “full control” of eastern Mosul, with Lt. Gen. Abdul-Amir Raheed Yar Allah saying the eastern side “has not been fully liberated … and the advance is still continuing.”

READ MORE: Mosul University fully liberated by Iraqi troops, says military

Yar Allah, who commands army operations in Ninevah, where Mosul is the provincial capital, said the special forces “have done their duty” in eastern Mosul. WASHINGTON, Jan. 17, 2017 — Iraqi security forces this week have continued steady progress against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, including the liberation of Mosul University, a sprawling complex on the northeast side of Iraq’s second-largest city where the enemy was deeply entrenched, the Operation Inherent Resolve spokesman said today.
The Iraqi Army announces the liberation of the eastern part of Mosul following the collapse of ISIL defenses.