Eastern Mosul ‘fully liberated’ from Daesh: Iraqi army
Announcement comes three months after army launches campaign to ‘liberate’ Daesh-held city
A soldier stands guard at Great Mosque of Mosul as they completely liberate eastern part of Mosul, Iraq on January 18, 2017.
BAGHDAD
The Iraqi army has fully retaken eastern Mosul some three months after launching its campaign to "liberate" the city from the Daesh terrorist group, Iraq’s Defense Ministry announced Monday.
"We are now awaiting an official announcement in this regard from Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, commander-in-chief of Iraq’s armed forces," a ministry spokesman said in a statement broadcast on state television.
The spokesman went on to assert that Daesh had sustained "significant human and material losses" in the battle for Mosul’s eastern districts.
"Army forces are now combing the area with a view to removing booby-traps from buildings and opening roads in liberated areas," he added.
Last October, the Iraqi army -- backed by a U.S.-led air coalition and local allies on the ground -- began a wide-ranging campaign to retake Mosul, which Daesh overran in mid-2014.
*Reporting by Hussein al-Amir; Writing by Ali Abo Rezeg
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