Iraqi defense min. announces “full liberation” of eastern Mosul

The Iraqi Defense Minister on Tuesday announced that the army has fully retaken eastern Mosul some three months after launching its campaign to "liberate" the city from the Islamic State ( IS)  group.
"We are now awaiting an official announcement in this regard from Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, commander-in-chief of Iraq’s armed forces," a ministry spokesman said in a statement broadcast on state television.
Iraqi army started its military operations to liberate eastern Mosul’s Talkeef district on Thursday in the framework of the battle to eliminate ISIS militias from the city. Meanwhile, the Iraqi forces are close to cleanse Mousl's left coast from the extremists, according to military sources.
The spokesman asserted that IS had sustained "significant human and material losses" in the battle for Mosul’s eastern districts.
"Army forces are now combing the area with a view to removing booby-traps from buildings and opening roads in liberated areas," he added.
Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi issued a statement, posted on his website, saying that “work is underway to liberate” Ghabat and the area housing Saddam Hussein’s former presidential palaces in eastern Mosul. He also vowed to liberate the western side of the city.
Last October, the Iraqi army -- backed by a U.S.-led air coalition and local allies on the ground -- began a wide-ranging campaign to retake Mosul, which IS overran in mid-2014.