Iraq Accuses ISIS of Launching Gas Attacks in Mosul
Iraqi forces have claimed that the Islamic State (ISIS) launched an attack using toxic gases in a newly-liberated area in western Mosul. Terrorists have resorted to harsher tactics as Iraqi troops backed by U.S.-led airstrikes take districts from the militants' control.
The incident happened Friday night in the al-Abar neighborhood and caused respiratory problems to at least seven soldiers who had to be taken to a nearby field clinic.
"The Daesh terrorist gangs tried to block the advance of our forces by using shells filled with toxic chemical material, but the effect was limited," said an Iraqi military statement, calling ISIS by the Arabic acronym.
The military is currently involved in an offensive in the more densely-populated western Mosul where more than half of the area has been retaken. The battle has been concentrated there after the extremists were driven out of the eastern half of Iraq's second largest city.
Patrick Martin, Iraq analyst at the Institute for the Study of War, said Iraqi forces "are nearing the end of the operation to recapture Mosul" but "the final neighborhoods will be the most difficult to recapture, especially the Old City and the remaining neighborhoods in northwestern Mosul."
Brigadier General Rick Uribe, a senior coalition commander, lamented that they find it difficult to negotiate alleyways and narrow streets.
"You cannot get vehicles in there, so it's gotta be a dismounted operation [which] makes it very difficult for any offensive manoeuvre in there, but it makes it very easy to defend," he said.
The assault on Mosul began in October 2016 with two special forces — the Counter-Terrorism Service and Rapid Response Division — advancing to the city's south, west and north before overrunning the eastern side earlier this year. The authorities are now setting their sights on the Tigris River which divides the city.
