BARTALLA: Iraqi forces have retaken control of east Mosul from the militant Islamic State group, commanders said on Wednesday, three months after a huge offensive against the jihadist bastion was launched. Elite forces have in recent days entered the last neighbourhoods on the eastern side of Mosul, on the left bank of the Tigris River that runs through the city.

Speaking at a news conference in Bartalla, a town east of Mosul, Staff General Talib al-Sheghati, who heads the Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS), announced “the liberation... of the left bank”. Sheghati added however that while the east of the city could be considered under government control, some work remained to be done to flush out the last holdout jihadists.

The “important lines and important areas are finished,” he said, adding that “there is only a bit of the northern (front) remaining.” Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said “the efforts of our brave forces were successful in the shape of the completion of the main plan of clearing the left side.”

Operations were ongoing to clear some parts of east Mosul, including some forested areas along the Tigris, Abadi said in a statement.

Wednesday’s announcement marks the end of a phase in the operation launched on October 17 to retake Mosul, Iraq’s second city and the last major urban stronghold IS has in the country.

The offensive, Iraq’s largest military operation in years with tens of thousands of fighters involved, began with a focus on sparsely populated areas around Mosul.

Brigadier General Yahya Rasool also stressed that despite Sheghati’s announcement, there would be more fighting in east Mosul in the coming days.

“Sheghati is the head of CTS and he was talking about areas under CTS control. There are some neighbourhoods that are still being liberated and that could take a few days,” he told AFP.

Blow to IS

The fighting inside Mosul has been complicated by the continued presence of much of its population, which did not or could not flee when Iraqi forces started advancing.

According to the United Nations, around 150,000 people are currently displaced as a result of the three-month-old offensive.

Jihadist supremo Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi proclaimed a “caliphate” straddling parts of Iraq and Syria from a mosque on the west bank of Mosul days later.

The full recapture of Mosul by government forces would effectively end IS’s days as a land-holding force in Iraq and deal a death blow to its claim of running a state.

Observers have said they expect a short lull in operations after east Mosul is brought fully under control.

“Mosul is already effectively surrounded, and IS has no choice but to fight on or surrender in the city and its surroundings,” said Omar Lamrani, Middle East analyst with US intelligence firm Stratfor. “Nevertheless, that does not mean that a deadly insurgency will not continue after Mosul is retaken,” he said.

Published in Dawn January 19th, 2017