Wave of IS car bombs targets Iraqi troops in west Mosul

BAGHDAD — Iraqi troops encounter the “heaviest” clashes yet with Islamic State group fighters Sunday in western Mosul since the start of the new push more than two weeks ago, according to a senior commander.

Maj. Gen. Haider al-Maturi of the Federal Police Commandos Division tells The Associated Press that IS militants dispatched at least six suicide car bombs, which are all destroyed before reaching the troops. The militants, he says, are moving from house to house and deploying snipers.

The wave of heavy resistance comes as Iraqi forces launch attacks against IS-held neighborhoods in western Mosul from three points Sunday morning. The Federal Police are closing in on the city’s main government complex in the Dawasa neighborhood and Iraq’s special forces are attempting to push into the Shuhada and Mansour neighborhoods.

The push on Mosul’s west was launched about two weeks ago after the eastern half of the city was declared “fully liberated” in January. The operation to retake Mosul officially began in October after more than two years of slowly clawing back territory from IS militants.

— AP