The Iraqi army said Sunday that troops have driven Islamic State militants out of the town of Nimrud, south of Mosul, near the site of famed ancient Assyrian ruins that were reportedly destroyed by the extremists.
(FOX)- Iraq’s special forces meanwhile battled militants in the city of Mosul itself, where they struggled to advance against waves of suicide car bombs.
Troops are converging from several fronts on Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city and the biggest urban area under IS control, as part of an offensive launched last month. The special forces have advanced the furthest so far, and hold a handful of districts on the city’s eastern edge.
The commander of the Mosul operation said troops took Nimrud, some 19 miles (30 kilometers) to the south, after heavy fighting. It was unclear if they had liberated the nearby 13th-century B.C. archaeological site.
“The 9th division of the Iraqi army has liberated the town of Nimrud completely and raised the Iraqi flag over its buildings after the enemy suffered heavy casualties,” Lt. Gen. Abdul-Amir Raheed Yar Allah said in a statement.
The late 1980s discovery of treasures in Nimrud’s royal tombs was one of the 20th century’s most significant archaeological finds. The government said militants, who captured the site in June 2014, destroyed it the following year using heavy military vehicles.
In Mosul itself, the special forces say they have cleared the Qadisiya and Zahra neighborhoods, and are planning to advance further in the coming hours. Over the past week they have inched forward slowly, trying to avoid casualties among their troops and civilians as suicide bombers in armor-plated vehicles rush forward from hiding spots among densely populated areas.