Iraqi Forces Closest Ever To the Tigris in Mosul
Colonel Muhammad Yunus told BasNews "the security forces managed to free Salam Hospital after violent clashes with the militants resisting inside the hospital."
He added that 28 IS militants, including leaders of Arab nationality, suicide bombers, as well as snipers were killed during the clashes despite wounding dozens of others, and destroying six car bombs.
The Commander of Mosul Operations, Lt. Gen. Abdul-Amir Rashid Yarallah said in a statement "the rapid response forces of the federal police managed to fully seize control of Salam Hospital, College of Medicine and Shifa Hospital in al-Wahda neighborhood in southeastern Mosul."
He pointed out that the Iraqi forces discovered the IS headquarters, a communication centre and two prisons in the area.
The recapture of Salam hospital is symbolic to the Iraqi forces after they suffered heavy losses there a month ago when they took control of the hospital for hours before withdrawing from it due to violent IS attacks.
Iraqi forces have arrived on Saturday at the outskirts of the Tigris, which bisects the city of Mosul in half after pushing back the militants from al-Ghufran neighborhood which is only 300 meters from the eastern bank of the river.
The neighborhood is 600 meters from the fourth bridge, one of the five bridges over the Tigris that coalition aircraft destroyed a part of it in recent weeks to cut off supplies to IS militants.
Iraqi forces closed in on the river that runs through central Mosul on Saturday in advances against the IS organization after retaking Ghufran neighborhood and pushing into al-Wahda neighborhood earlier today.
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