Baghdad :Iraq has announced that its forces had entered jihadist-held Mosul for the first time since the Islamic State group overran the city more than two years ago.
Iraqi army forces have “now entered the Judaidat Al-Mufti area, within the left bank of the city of Mosul,” the Joint Operations Command said in a statement.
Mosul is split down the middle by the Tigris River. Iraqis refer to the eastern half of the city as the left bank and the western side as the right bank.
Judaidat al-Mufti is an area on the southeastern side of the city.
Iraqi forces launched a massive operation aimed at retaking Mosul from the Islamic State group more than two weeks ago, and have been advancing on the city on multiple fronts.
IS overran Mosul along with swathes of other territory in the summer of 2014, but Iraqi forces have since regained significant ground from jihadists, and the city is now their last stronghold in the country.
PTI