Iraqi Commander Says Troops Push Deeper Into Western Mosul

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi federal police units pushed deeper into western Mosul on Monday, gaining control of a neighborhood along the Tigris River and the foot of one of the city’s five bridges amid intense clashes with Islamic State militants, a senior Iraqi police commander said. According to Maj. Gen Thamir al-Hussaini, who commands the federal rapid response force, the troops pushed deeper into the western Gawsaq neighborhood earlier in the day and reached the bridge known locally as the 4th Bridge. All of Mosul’s bridges spanning the Tigris River and connecting the western part of the city, still held by the Islamic State group, with its eastern sector, were disabled by airstrikes last year. Al-Hussaini told The Associated Press that IS militants were fighting back with snipers, anti-tank missiles and suicide car bombs, describing the clashes as “fierce.” He added that Iraqi troops suffered casualties, but didn’t give a specific number. Later Monday from Gawsaq, Iraqi counterterrorism forces moved into the nearby Wadi Hajar neighborhood, he said. Private broadcaster Lebanon-based Al-Mayadeen aired live footage from Gawsaq, showing Iraqi troops in armored vehicles and Humvees pushing through dusty streets as gunfire rattled.