Iraqi forces enter IS-held airport in Mosul, the jihadists’ last stronghold in the country
It is unclear how many jihadists are defending the airport but US officials said on Monday that only about 2,000 remain in Mosul
Iraqi forces backed by jets, drones and gunships entered Mosul airport on Thursday in a key step in their four-month-old offensive to retake the city from the Islamic State group.
The disused airport commands access to the south of the city, which the jihadists seized in June 2014 and where their leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi proclaimed a “caliphate” straddling Iraq and Syria in 2014.
Right now we’re on the southern edge of Mosul airport and the sugar factory, our troops are attacking it
“Right now we’re on the southern edge of Mosul airport and the sugar factory, our troops are attacking it,” said Hisham Abdul Kadhem, commander of the Rapid Response’s Scorpion Regiment.
He said his forces and federal police controlled the southern and western sides of the airport.
“Engineers are starting to clear the roads and remove IEDs [improvised explosive devices,” he said, as an attack helicopter fired rockets at the sugar factory.
The regional command coordinating the battle said elite Counter-Terrorism Service forces also attacked the neighbouring Ghazlani military base, where some of them were stationed before IS seized the city in June 2014.