Smoke rises from burning oil wells in Qayyarah, south of Mosul, on November 4, 2016, during operation by Iraqi forces to retake the main hub city from the Islamic State (IS) group jihadists. Elite Iraqi forces pushed deep into the streets of Mosul on Frid
NINEVEH, Iraq: Iraqi forces on Sunday pushed deeper into northern Mosul as part of an ongoing offensive to retake the city from the Islamic State terrorist group.
"Army forces have stormed al-Sada district, the first residential neighborhood in northern Mosul,” army officer Ahmed al-Jabouri of the Nineveh Operations Command told Anadolu Agency.
“Our forces are engaged in street battles with Islamic State militants” in the district, he said.
Last month, the Iraqi army -- backed by U.S.-led coalition airstrikes -- launched a wide-ranging operation aimed at retaking Mosul, the last Islamic State bastion in northern Iraq, from the terrorist group.
In mid-2014, Islamic State captured Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, before overrunning vast swathes of territory in the country’s north and west.
Recent months have seen the Iraqi army, backed by local allies on the ground and the U.S.-led air coalition, retake much territory.
According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), more than 22,000 people have been displaced since the beginning of the anti-Islamic State operations.
