Heavy fighting as ISIL attacks Iraqi forces in Mosul

BAGHDAD - The Associated Press

AP photo

A suicide car bomber from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group attacked Iraqi special forces in Mosul on Nov. 12, setting off heavy fighting in the northern city.

The early morning attack in the Qadisiya neighborhood, which the troops entered a day earlier, was followed by a barrage of gunfire, mortar rounds and rocket-propelled grenades, Iraqi officers said.

Fighting was also underway in the adjoining Arbajiya neighborhood, the officers added, speaking on condition of anonymity because they aren't authorized to brief reporters.

The Iraqi armed forces do not release casualty figures, but field medics have noted dozens of killed and wounded since the operation to liberate Iraq's second largest city began on Oct. 17.

Iraqi special forces entered Mosul earlier this month, gaining a foothold on the city's eastern edges. But the advance has slowed as they push into more densely populated neighborhoods.

The urban landscape inside Mosul proper makes defense easier for the militants, eager to hold on to the last major Iraqi stronghold of their self-styled caliphate. Defeat in Mosul would be a major blow to their project, and they have said they are ready to fight to the death.

To the south of the city, militarized Iraqi police have come within 3 miles (5 kilometers) of Mosul's airport, which satellite images show has been heavily fortified.

The images, taken earlier this month by U.S.-based private intelligence firm Stratfor, show ISIL militants have cleared terrain and leveled buildings around the airport and a nearby former military base on the west bank of the Tigris River. Rows of concrete barricades, earthen mounds and rubble are blocking other key routes into the city center.