Islamic State dislodged from one-third of eastern Mosul

Islamic State group ISIS has been dislodged from one third of the eastern side of Mosul by Iraqi forces, four weeks into the US-backed campaign to take back the city, said an Iraqi interior ministry spokesman on Tuesday.

According to Reuters, the Tigris river divides Mosul into eastern and western sides. The built-up area in the eastern side is slightly bigger than the western side where the old city is located.

Speaking at a news conference, at the Qayyara military base the ministry spokesman, Brigadier-General Saad Maan said;

"More than a third of this (eastern) side has been liberated."

Maan added that 955 insurgents have been killed so far and 108 captured on the southern front lines of the city alone.

Iraqi government forces are trying to consolidate gains made in the east of the city, with air and ground support from a US-led coalition, which they entered at the end of October.

Th forces are yet to enter the northern or southern neighbourhoods of Mosul, where more than 1 million people are thought to be living.

Source: Reuters