Baghdad: A senior Iraqi commander says his troops have driven Islamic State militants from three more neighbourhoods in the northern city of Mosul.
Brig. Gen. Haider Fadhil of the special forces said on Thursday his men have retaken the neighbourhoods of Amn, Qahira and Green Apartment and were expanding their foothold in the densely populated district of Zohour.
The neighbourhoods are all in the eastern sector of Mosul, east of the Tigris River, where most of the fighting has taken place since the government's campaign to liberate the city began Oct. 17.
Government troops are backed by U.S.-led coalition airstrikes against IS positions in the city. Mosul, captured by IS in 2014, is the last major urban center still held by the Sunni extremist group in Iraq.
