Iraqi security forces on Monday repelled attacks of Islamic State (IS) militants north of Baghdad, killing three IS militants and capturing 11 others, security sources said.
Lt. Gen. Shaker Jawdat said Federal Police have completed their preparations for engagement in operations to recapture western Mosul.
The Iraqi government, which launched a major, U.S.-backed campaign to retake Mosul from Islamic State extremists, has not yet officially given orders to joint forces to proceed towards the west. Operations have so far succeeded to retake the eastern region on January 24th.
In a separate incident, five Sunni tribal fighters were killed in an ambush by IS militants near the town of Shirqat, some 280 km north of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, a local security source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
In the west, local sources said drone attacks killed one child and three Islamic State members.
A few kilometers away, out of range of the ongoing battle, families stream in and out of the warzone on foot. Civilian cars are banned in recently captured areas of Mosul because Iraqi forces don't want to confuse families with car bombers.
Unused vehicles are parked across streets, blockading neighborhoods from possible bombers.
A source told Alsumaria News that three IS members, including a Syrian national nicknamed Abu Sarhan al-Souri, were killed in a presumed drone attack that targeted their vehicle near Islah al-Zerai district.
“Al-Souri is a leading (IS) security figure in western Mosul, and was behind many executions of civilians over the past months,” the source said.
Another local source told the network that a four-year-old child was killed and his parents were wounded by an IS-guided drone which dropped a bomb on them near al-Farouq district.
“The skies of the western side of Mosul have witnessed an obvious activity by Islamic State drones that fly towards the eastern districts,” said the source.