MOSUL, Iraq: Iraqi troops faced stiff resistance Saturday from Islamic State militants as they pushed deeper into eastern Mosul, backed by aerial support from the U.S.-led international coalition, a senior military commander said.
Troops moved into the Muharabeen and Ulama neighborhoods after fully liberating the adjacent Tahrir neighborhood on Friday, said Maj. Gen. Sami al-Aridi of the Iraqi special forces. Al-Aridi said IS militants were fighting back with snipers, rocket-propelled grenades and mortar rounds.
Thick black columns of smoke billowed from the two areas, while dozens of civilians were seen fleeing to government-controlled areas.
Shortly before noon, a suicide bomber emerged from a house in the Tahrir neighborhood and attacked security forces, wounding four troops. Later in the afternoon, another suicide car bomber hit the troops in the Aden neighborhood, killing a soldier and wounding three others.
Late Friday, a group of IS militants attacked the village of Imam Gharbi south of Mosul, controlling most of it for hours before airstrikes from the U.S.-led international coalition were called in, an officer said.
The clashes and multiple suicide bombings left three policemen dead, including an officer, and four others wounded, he said. Nine IS fighters were killed, he added. The officer spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to brief media.
On Saturday, after the fighting had quietened down, the Kuwaiti government in coordination with a local nongovernmental organization distributed 1,000 boxes of humanitarian aid to residents of the Samah and al-Arbajiyeh districts in eastern Mosul, which had been cleared of IS militants earlier.
Residents sat on the ground in a long line waiting to receive the aid. As they emerged from their districts, some opened their jackets and raised their hands in the air to show troops they were not wearing an explosive belt. Some waved white flags.
“We don’t have any medical support,” said Ibrahim Saad, a Mosul resident. “There is no food, no water. I am not talking about electricity, but these three fundamental things are not available,” he said.
To the west of Mosul, government-sanctioned Shiite militias took full control of the Tal Afar military airfield Friday night, said Jaafar al-Husseini, a spokesman for the influential Hezbollah Brigades. Al-Husseini said the clashes almost destroyed the airport.
According to the United Nations, more than 56,000 civilians living in and around Mosul have been forced from their homes since the operation began.