MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Iraqi forces have liberated al-Thawra district of western Mosul from Daesh, army Lt. Gen. Abdul Amir Yaarallah said Thursday.
"Army-affiliated anti-terrorism forces hoisted the Iraqi national flag over buildings in the district after inflicting the enemy with severe human and material losses," Yaarallah told Anadolu news agency.
The city of Mosul has been occupied by Daesh, outlawed in many countries, including Russia, since 2014. The operation to retake it began on October 17, 2016 and resulted in the liberation of Mosul’s eastern part this January, but fighting continues in the city's western areas. The operation to liberate it started on February 19.
On April 1, Brig. Gen. Shaker Alwan Khafaji, one of the Iraqi Federal Police heads, told Sputnik that only 25-30 percent of western Mosul's territory was under the terrorists' control, and that Iraqi government forces are continuing in their efforts to liberate the city's districts.