Iraqi forces are slowly battling to push Islamist terror group out of the country's third city
FRONTLINE Iraqi Special Forces are fighting a cut-throat battle to clear the last remnants of the ISIS jihadists from eastern Mosul.
The Iraqi army has been involved in a bloody battle to kick the terror group out of Iraq’s third city for months.
But the country’s elite commandos are finally turning the tide against the sick extremist group.
“Tomorrow we will secure all the way up to the Tigris, including the Presidential Palace and Nineveh International Hotel,” Commander Ali, from the Iraqi Counter Terrorism Force explains.
The frontline is littered with the corpses of recently killed ISIS fighters.
“There are at least four or five ISIS killed over there,” one of the drivers explains.
He adds: “There are more over the hill as well.”
Despite the nervousness and danger of ISIS snipers, the people of Mosul are glad to be liberated.
“Life under ISIS was very hard, no trading, no money, just fear,” a local who lives next to a former ISIS bomb factory says.
He continues: “They are not Islamic, all they were talking about was jihad [and war], they have no mercy.”
Now, the threat of terror comes from the sky.
“Watch out. ISIS have rigged these drones with grenades,” a commander warns, as he explains what one of his fighters is shooting at.
Joining up with another division, around twenty special force troops approach the Nineveh International Hotel.
It is their first target for the day.
The job is slow with the unit periodically being stopped.
This area has not been cleared and every room must be checked for ISIS snipers or suicide bombers.
But, as one young explosive expert from Baghdad explains, even once that is done there is the ever-present threat of unexploded IEDs.
The clearance of the hotel and the nearby Presidential Palace takes more than four hours, and despite there being no jihadists in either building, the dangers across the river are evident.
“There are ISIS snipers over there, keep your head down,” one battle-weary soldier warns.
Although the area is officially cleared, the sickening jihadists’ ability to launch surprise and deadly attacks on the eastern sector remains.
“There was five VBIED [vehicle-borne improvised explosive device] that attacked a route in,” a commander from another battalion warns.
Laughing he adds: “It is not that bad. Before, they were launching around 32 every day.”
Despite the occasional explosion in the area, the commander is “surprised how quickly” the shops and markets have reopened.
Life here stops for no one.
The Iraqi Army is now in full control of all major buildings and bridges in eastern Mosul.
But there is still plenty of fighting to be done. Intense battles still rage for the south and the west of the city.
“It is taking longer in the south, the terrain in that area is harder, preventing the Iraqi army from moving up,” Commander Ali says as he returns to base.
Yet he, like many in the Iraqi Army, is optimistic that ISIS will eventually be finished in Iraq.
“It may take months, but now we control the eastern side of the river ISIS will eventually be finished in Mosul,” he says.
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