Iraqi Forces Enter East Mosul; Street Fighting with ISIS Militants Begins

Reports indicate that Iraqi forces entered the city of Mosul for the first time in two years on Thursday, November 4, and hand-to-hand combat with militants from the Islamic State group, or ISIS, has begun in the streets of the city. Brigadier General Tahseen Ibrahim, spokesman for the Iraqi Ministry of Defense, told CNN that units from the 9th Armored Division of the Iraqi Army have entered Mosul and military forces have launched an assault on the Intisar area in eastern Mosul. A spokesman for the Hashd al-Shaabi, the Iraqi Shiite militias, also stated on Thursday that this group continues to battle to cut off one of the supply routes of the Islamic State group in western Mosul. Karim Nouri, a spokesman for Hashd al-Shaabi, told Reuters on Thursday, "We are advancing slowly and are witnessing vehicles leaving from a distance." It is unclear whether these vehicles were attempting to flee the city as Iraqi forces crossed the Islamic State's fortifications in western Mosul or if they were fighters heading to reinforce ISIS's defenses in Tal Afar, located west of Mosul. Since the start of the Mosul liberation operation on October 17, Iraqi army and police forces, along with Kurdish Peshmerga, have been advancing towards Mosul from the southern, eastern, and northern fronts. Five days ago, Hashd al-Shaabi militants also joined this operation and are advancing towards the city of Tal Afar. Tal Afar is located 55 kilometers west of Mosul and lies on the route between Mosul and areas controlled by the Islamic State group in Syrian territory. Hadi al-Amiri, leader of the Badr Organization, expressed hope that the main supply lines of the Islamic State group would be cut off inside Mosul by Thursday. He told Iraqi television, "God willing, today the first phase of the Hashd al-Shaabi operation, which aims to cut off the enemy's communication routes between Tal Afar and the Mahlibiya area, will be successful." Al-Amiri also added that Shiite militants will attempt to cut the highway between Mosul and Tal Afar in the final stages of the operation, but currently, the priority is the route passing through the Mahlibiya area. He stated, "This is the same route that ISIS used to enter the city of Mosul. Cutting this route means closing off their supply lines and completely besieging them." Meanwhile, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of ISIS, in a recorded speech on Thursday, urged his followers not to retreat in the battle for Mosul and claimed that victory would belong to them in the "total war" against their enemies.