Iraqi forces gain ground in Mosul’s eastern district

World Today

Iraqi forces gain ground in Mosul's eastern district

Iraqi forces entered 2017 victorious in the eastern districts of Mosul.

It’s the biggest Iraqi city still partly controlled by ISIL. CGTN’s Toby Muse reports.

A new year for a war that drags on. Iraqi forces said half of Mosul had been liberated the day before. Yet, the sound of war is constant.

Bombs are going off all around us, yet we see so many civilians still there. Civilians scurry through the streets. The Iraqi government urged Mosul inhabitants to stay in the city to prevent a mass displacement of an estimated one million people and to make sure ISIL fighters didn’t escape in the flood of refugees.

Yet, some still flee. Iraqi troops are wary of suicide bombers.

As the operation to defeat ISIL continues in the area, we were told not to speak to any soldiers. It’s clear ISIL is losing this war-one neighborhood at a time. But Iraqi forces, face savage resistance-slowed by ISIL fighters using civilians as human shields.

The ISIL dead are left where they fell. To protect civilians, Iraqi troops decide to detonate the vest.

The troops move quickly and they spot an ISIL drone above them. ISIL fighters remain in control of the city’s western districts.