Iraqi forces said they were about to complete the encirclement of Daesh’s stronghold in the Old City of Mosul, after taking control of a neighboring district on Thursday.
Iraq’s military said it had captured Bab Sinjar, north of the historic, densely populated district where the militants launched their cross-border “caliphate” in 2014.
Government forces and their allies still have to take full control of Medical City, a complex of hospitals further north along the bank of the Tigris, to enclose the militant enclave.
The offensive to retake the northern city started in October with air and ground support from a US-led international coalition.
Iraqi government forces retook eastern Mosul in January, then a month later began the offensive on the western side where about 200,000 civilians remain trapped behind Daesh lines. About 800,000 people, more than a third of the pre-war population of Mosul, have already fled, seeking refuge with friends and relatives or in camps.
Kurdish forces backed by US airstrikes are also besieging Daesh forces in the city of Raqqa, the militants’ de facto capital in neighboring Syria.
Meanwhile, Iraqi forces, who have retaken eastern Mosul, have banned the face veil as part of a package of measures to curb terror attacks in the area. They decided on the ban after having detained several Daesh fighters who had dressed up as women, concealing their faces behind the black material.
Traditionally in Mosul, women wear what they like at home but don a long robe and cover their hair in the street.

Source: Arab News