Iraqi forces on verge of victory in Mosul

said braka 9:43 AM
MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) — Islamic State of

Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants threw themselves into the Tigris on Sunday, trying to flee the battlefield in Mosul as Iraqi forces reached the riverbank, bringing them to the verge of victory.
After eight months of combat that has left parts of the city in ruins, killed thousands of civilians and displaced nearly one million people, Iraqi officials say they have almost regained full control of Mosul.
The militants have been driven from all but a patch of territory on the western bank of the Tigris bisecting Mosul, where they have staged a last stand in the narrow alleys of the Old City.
Plumes of smoke rose over the Old City on Sunday and the decaying corpses of ISIL fighters lay in the streets. Scattered bursts of gunfire could be heard and several airstrikes were carried out.
Iraqi military spokesman, Brig. Gen. Yahya Rasool, told state TV earlier on Sunday that 30 militants had been killed attempting to get away by swimming across the Tigris.
Later, Iraqiya News ran an on-screen headline saying the Counter Terrorism Service (CTS) had raised the Iraqi flag on the Tigris riverbank in the Old City after retaking the Maydan area, and was now advancing toward the Qalayat area.
ISIL vowed on Saturday to “fight to the death” in Mosul.