Nearly 100 ISIS Members Killed in One Day During Mosul Battle

The Joint Operations Command in Iraq reports that 97 members of the so-called Islamic State were killed during the Mosul battle last Sunday. This report coincides with the announcement of preparations for new attacks in Mosul against extremist militants. According to CNN and the Hill website, which monitors U.S. Congressional news, and based on a statement released by the Joint Operations Command of the coalition and Iraqi forces, these 97 individuals were killed in three separate attacks. In the first operation, Iraqi army forces destroyed two ISIS car bombs that were attempting to attack a police position in southern Mosul, resulting in the deaths of 21 ISIS members in response to this failed attack. In the second clash, while militants intended to attack army positions in southeastern Mosul with car bombs and suicide bombers, they faced a response from the army, leading to the deaths of 51 ISIS members. In the third operation, coalition fighter jets attacked ISIS positions and personnel in eastern Mosul, killing at least 25 extremist militants. Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city and an important economic and political center, was captured by the Islamic State during their advances in 2014. Currently, ground operations by the army, police, and Iraqi special forces, along with government-aligned militants and Kurdish Peshmerga, are underway to regain control of the city, supported by a U.S.-led coalition. On Tuesday, Colonel Stewart James, the operational commander of the U.S. Army in Mosul, announced the beginning of a new phase of advances in Mosul. Colonel James told Reuters that in this new phase, U.S. forces will be deployed closer to the front lines near the city. General Stephen Townsend, commander of the coalition's anti-ISIS operations, stated on December 12 that over two thousand members of the so-called Islamic State have been killed or severely wounded during the Mosul battle.