Iraqi Forces Close in on Tigris in Mosul
Daesh has been driven out of more than half the areas it held east of the Tigris river, which bisects the city, but is still in control of the west. It will be harder for the Takfiri terrorists to defend Mosul once Iraqi forces reach the river.
The battle for the city has yet to be won but is beginning to make quicker progress.
Iraqi counter-terrorism forces pushed to within several hundred meters (yards) of the Tigris and a strategic bridge on Saturday, the closest they have been, after staging an unprecedented nighttime assault the day before in a nearby district, a spokesman said.
Advances in recent days have driven militants out of several additional areas east of the river.
The counter-terrorism service (CTS) spokesman said new tactics and better coordination were helping.
"Counter-terrorism forces have been sent about 500 meters from the fourth bridge," Sabah al-Numan told reporters east of Mosul, CNBC reported.
A coalition spokesman said on Twitter that Daesh had damaged the fourth bridge in a "desperate act" as they lost ground.
CTS seized the Ghufran district, also known as al-Baath, and entered adjacent Wahda, Numan said.
A separate military statement said Iraqi federal police had recaptured a hospital complex in Wahda in southeastern Mosul, a significant turnaround after US-backed army units were forced to withdraw from the site last month under fierce counter-attacks from Daesh.
CTS and federal police "are now moving in parallel on both axes" in southeastern Mosul, Numan said.
"We are proceeding side by side ... and advancing at the same level. This is a very important factor, thanks to which Daesh has not been able to move its fighters. It has to support one axis (front) at the expense of another."
"We have worn down the terrorist organization with this type of advance."
