Joint forces liberate several areas in western Mosul

Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) Forces from al-Hashd al-Shaabi, backed by the 9th armored brigade and Army Aviation, resumed military operations to reinforce the western side of Badush vicinity and its surrounding areas.

According to a statement released by the media office of al-Hashd al-Shaabi, the operations resulted in the liberation of the residential complex, the villages of al-Jadida and al-Damerji al-Saghira and Arheiya area, as well as recapturing a communication system belonging to the Islamic State terrorist group.

Furthermore, the operations also destroyed four booby-trapped vehicles, before reaching their targets, in addition to killing and wounding a number of militants by a rocket attack launched by al-Hashd al-Shaabi.

Kurdish-led SDF forces seize Raqqa train station amidst ISIS decline

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Monday seized control of a train station in southeastern Raqqa city, military sources reported.

The progress followed heavy clashes between the US-backed SDF troops and Islamic State’s (ISIS) militants.

Dozens of ISIS militants were killed or injured in the clashes on Monday, according to officials.

The station, located in the Qasta al-Sukun district, was used by ISIS as a military base.

“Liberating the train station was another victory for our forces against this radical group,” SDF officer Habun Osman told ARA News.

Also on Monday, the SDF alliance drove ISIS out of the Jarqa town–20km east of Raqqa.

In early March, the SDF troops seized control of a main road that was used by Islamic State’s jihadists as a supply line between the cities of Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa–the group’s de facto capital in Syria.

This comes as part of the third phase of the Euphrates Wrath Operation, aimed at liberating Eastern Raqqa from ISIS jihadists, launched by the SDF on 4 February.

During the first phase of Euphrates Wrath, which began on November 6, 2016, the SDF liberated roughly 560 km² in Northern Raqqa.

On 10 December, the SDF launched the second phase of the Euphrates Wrath, during which it captured over 2500 km² in Western Raqqa.

The campaign is ultimately aimed at isolating the ISIS radical group in its de facto capital.

Mosul, iraqi Troops in Tense House to House Searches

Members of the elite Iraqi Counterterrorism Service went house to house in west Mosul's Sinaa neighborhood on March 18, searching for Islamic State (IS) militants hiding out there. A cameraman working for RFE/RL's Radio Farda was with the unit as it encountered three militants and shot them dead. In another house, the soldiers found a young boy standing guard after other family members had left for a safer place.

Residents Flee West Mosul As Fighting Nears Old City, Key Mosque

Thousands of Iraqis were fleeing west Mosul during lulls in heavy fighting as government troops closed in on the Old City and a strategic mosque in their campaign to drive Islamic State (IS) militants out of Iraq's second-largest city.

Officials on March 18 said Iraqi forces were facing strong resistance as they attempted to retake the crowded, narrow streets of west Mosul in a drive launched with U.S. air support on February 19.

Government troops captured the eastern half of the militants’ so-called capital in Iraq in January after 100 days of fighting.

Iraqi troops are focused on encircling the Old City and the important Al-Nuri Mosque in west Mosul, Lieutenant General Raed Chaker of the Federal Police said.

Another Federal Police official on March 18 said troops had recaptured two heavily populated neighborhoods, Al-Kur and Al-Tawafa, in the Old City.

Food and water remained scarce and security was precarious in newly liberated areas. Many residents were seen fleeing to safer areas during lulls in fighting.

"We have been trapped for 25 days. No water, no food, everyone will die, and they will have to pull us from the rubble," a resident of Bab Jdid district said.

"It is terrible. Islamic State has destroyed us. There is no food, no bread. There is absolutely nothing," another resident said.

U.S. officials estimated as many as 750,000 civilians may have been in west Mosul at the start of the offensive, along with some 2,000 IS fighters.

Elements of the Federal Police and Rapid Response forces are leading the campaign around the Old City and the mosque.

Rain and heavy clouds were hanging over the area, limiting air cover.

"The weather is cloudy and rainy, but our forces are advancing toward their targets," Federal Police Major General Haider Dhirgham said.

IS militants were fighting back with sniper fire, mortars, and armored suicide car bombs, officials said.

Mosul and the Al-Nuri Mosque are of major symbolic importance to IS because it was where leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared his so-called caliphate in 2014.

IS’s stronghold in Syria, Raqqa, is also under pressure from U.S.-backed forces.

IS militants seized large portions of northern Iraq and Syria in an offensive in 2014.

The group has been accused of numerous atrocities and has claimed responsibility for major terrorist attacks in Europe and elsewhere.