At least 90 Iraqi soldiers have lost their lives when fighter jets from the United States Air Force (USAF) mistakenly struck their position in Mosul as government forces and allied fighters are trying to flush Daesh terrorists out of the strategic northern city.
An Iraqi army source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Arabic service of Russia’s Sputnik news agency on Saturday that the airstrike had targeted soldiers from the 9th Armored Division of the Iraqi army the previous day, destroying eight infantry fighting vehicles as well as four Humvee military trucks. Some 100 soldiers were also wounded as a result of the attack.
On Saturday, the commander of Nineveh Liberation Operation, Lieutenant General Abdul Amir Yarallah, said in a press statement that Iraqi counter-terrorism forces had managed to free the entire neighborhoods of al-Qadisiyah and al-Morour in the eastern quarter of Mosul from Daesh.
Yarallah added that security forces had also raised the Iraqi flag over several buildings in both districts, and inflicted heavy human and material losses on the terrorists.
The Iraqi Joint Operations Command (JOC) also stated that Iraqi F-16 fighter jets had carried out airstrikes on designated targets inside Mosul, destroying three bomb-making workshops and as many arms depots.
Iraqi army soldiers, pro-government fighters from Popular Mobilization Units, also known by the Arabic name Hashd al-Sha'abi, and Kurdish Peshmerga forces launched joint operations on October 17 to retake Mosul from Daesh terrorists.
The Iraqi forces’ advance has, however, been slowed down due to the presence of hundreds of thousands of civilians, many of whom are prevented from leaving Mosul by Daesh.
The United Nations says more than 82,000 civilians have experienced forced displacement in the wake of Mosul operation.
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