Iraqi Soldiers Enter the City of Mosul

An Iraqi general said on Monday, November 1, that Iraqi forces have succeeded for the first time in entering the main area of Mosul after two weeks since the beginning of the operation to retake the outskirts of the city. General Wissam Araji, an official of the Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service trained by American forces, told Reuters that the counter-terrorism soldiers have now entered the Karama neighborhood located in the eastern part of Mosul. The Counter-Terrorism Service had halted its operations last week because it had advanced faster than other forces against the Islamic State (ISIS), allowing the other forces to catch up with its progress. However, the Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service resumed its offensive on Monday and is currently engaged with ISIS forces in the Karama neighborhood, according to General Wissam Araji. Iraqi security forces and Kurdish Peshmerga have begun their new operations to retake Mosul since October 17, with air and ground support from the U.S.-led coalition. Iranian-backed Iraqi Shiite militants have also entered the conflict lines with ISIS in western Mosul since Saturday, aiming to block the route from Mosul to Raqqa. Mosul, which still has about one and a half million residents, is the second-largest city in Iraq, and the operation to retake it from ISIS control is considered the most difficult and complex operation of its kind in the past decade in Iraq. The recapture of Mosul has been described as the end of ISIS's active presence in Iraq; Iranian officials have expressed concern about the transfer of ISIS fighters from Mosul to Syria and increased pressure on Bashar al-Assad's government. Currently, Iranian-backed Shiite forces in Iraq are trying to block the escape routes of ISIS fighters from Iraq to Syria.