Three months into its operation to recapture the Iraqi city of Mosul, US military officials say that upwards of 90 percent of the eastern part of the city has been cleared of ISIS militants.
(FOX)- U.S. Air Force Col. John Dorrian, a Baghdad-based US military spokesman, told Pentagon reporters on Tuesday that eastern Mosul is 85 to 90 percent clear of militants – exactly three months after the operation started on Oct. 17.
Dorrian said they are now concerned about ISIS “sleeper cells” that could be in areas that have been cleared.
Dorrian’s announcement comes after it was revealed that Iraqi forces have also captured the Mosque of the Prophet Younis, or Jonah, after driving ISIS militants from a neighborhood in eastern Mosul.
The mosque was among dozens of historical and heritage sites destroyed by ISIS militants after their June 2014 onslaught. The site is believed to be the burial place of the prophet Jonah, who was swallowed by a whale in stories from both the Bible and the Koran.
It was built on an archaeological site dating back to the 8thcentury B.C. and attracted religious pilgrims from multiple faiths around the world.