(MENAFN) Iraqi forces closed in on the river running through central Mosul on Saturday in advances against the Islamic State group that have gathered pace thanks to new tactics and better coordination, a counter-terrorism spokesman said.
In detail, advances in recent days, including Saturday's push to within several hundred metres of the Tigris, have included an unprecedented nighttime assault by elite forces and driven the militants out of several areas east of the river in what is their last major stronghold in Iraq.
Counter-terrorism service (CTS) forces were the closest they had been to the Tigris inside Mosul and closing in on a strategic bridge, the spokesman said. The US-backed operation to recapture the city was launched nearly three months ago.
"Counter-terrorism forces have been sent about 500m from the fourth bridge," Sabah al-Numan said in Bartella, east of Mosul.
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