YEREVAN 14 C°
RA CB:
  • USD - 396.02 AMD +0.02 EUR - 431.27 AMD +0.27 RUB - 5.71 AMD +0.71 GBP - 490.04 AMD +0.04
  • GOLD - - AMD SILVER - - AMD PLATINUM - - AMD

Families Flee Mosul As Iraqi Troops Cose in On ISIL

CNN.com

Hundreds of civilians fled Mosul’s Old City on Friday (June 30) as US-backed Iraqi forces engaged in fierce fighting with die-hard Islamic State militants making their final stand in the country’s second-largest city, the Euronews reports.

Families streamed through alleyways near the Grand al-Nuri Mosque, where ISIL leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi proclaimed the group’s so-called caliphate in 2014 and which ISIL fighters reportedly blew up a week ago as Iraqi forces closed in.

Authorities say they’re just days away from fully retaking the city but the battle is a tough one, with pockets of fighters and snipers dug in among civilians.

This week’s capture of the mosque by government troops was a major victory, and Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared on Thursday the end of ISIL’s self-proclaimed caliphate.

But the eight months of fighting have taken a huge toll on the people of Mosul. Thousands of civilians have been killed, according to aid organizations, and the International Organisation for Migration estimates close to 900,00 people – about half the city’s pre-war population – have fled since the offensive started last October. The Iraqi government had initially pledged the city would be liberated in 2016.

 

Other materials on this subject


Most read

day

week

month

    Weather
    Yerevan
    sunny
    Humidity: 26%
    Wind: 0.51 km/h
    14 C°
     
    16°   
    29.03.2024
    20°   
    30.03.2024