IS launches overnight attack against Iraqi troops in Mosul

Islamic State militants launched an overnight attack against Iraqi security forces in the southeastern part of Mosul, a day after troops advanced deeper into that part of the city, Iraq's military said today.
The attack "inflicted heavy losses," Iraqi Army Sgt Maj Hakim Saranbii told The Associated Press, without giving specific casualty figures or further details. Iraqi Defence Ministry officials in Baghdad did not immediately comment.
The setback came after Iraq's army yesterday rolled into the southeastern neighbourhood of al-Salam, taking a hospital before meeting stiff resistance from IS militants. Convoys of dozens of armoured Iraqi special forces and army Humvees could be seen moving into the southeastern neighbourhood Wednesday morning.

"What we see here is the enemy reacting to a new axis of advance," said coalition spokesman U.S. Army, Col. John Dorrian, explaining that the new push is putting increased pressure on IS.
After the advance yesterday, Iraqi forces said that they pushed the front line back more than 2 kilometres and retook Mosul's al-Salam hospital, but only a few hundred metres appeared to be secured and clashes continued into the evening.
When Iraqi forces initially launched a push into eastern Mosul in early November, troops came under heavy counterattacks after advancing too far too quickly. Islamic State militants depend on suicide car bombs and sniper fire to derail the security forces, as well as a network of underground tunnels.

The Iraqi government has not publicised the casualty figures for government troops and paramilitary forces fighting in Mosul and elsewhere in northern Iraq. Last week, the UN said in a report that nearly 2,000 members of the Iraqi forces were killed last month, but after coming under fire from the media arm of the Iraqi military, it announced it would discontinue publishing casualty figures for Iraq's security forces.

Backed the US-led international coalition, Iraqi government troops and paramilitary forces launched a campaign in October to dislodge IS from Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city and IS's last major urban bastion in the country.

Elsewhere, a wave of bomb attacks today hit commercial areas in and around the capital, Baghdad, killing at least 17 civilians and wounding 57, police and health officials said.
The deadliest among a total of nine bombings took place in Baghdad's northern Sabi al-Bor area and the southeast suburb of Nahrawan where three civilians were killed in each attack, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to talk to reporters.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks that bore all the hallmarks of the Islamic State group, which has staged similar attacks in the past.