Iraqi Rapid Response retakes Harmat from IS
(VOVWORLD) - Iraqi forces battling Islamic State (IS) militants yesterday made new progress against IS positions in the northwestern edge of IS stronghold in the western side of Mosul, the Iraqi military said.
 Forces from Iraq's elite Rapid Response Division |
The army's 9th Armored Division and elite forces of the federal police, known as Rapid Response, freed the neighborhood of Harmat and raised the Iraqi flag over some of its buildings after heavy clashes against IS militants, the Iraqi Joint Operations Command said in a statement. The new push would help the special forces of the Counter-Terrorism Service and the interior ministry federal police, who are making slow progress in the southern part of Mosul's western side because of the stiff resistance of the militants in the densely-populated areas of the old city center, where roughly 400,000 residents are believed to still be trapped under IS rule.