Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Tuesday that troops have begun to fight against the Islamic State militants on the western side of the Tigris River in Mosul. No details were given during the announcement.
Militants, however, are escaping the last few neighborhoods they still control in eastern Mosul. They have been spotted piloting boats to cross the Tigris River to western Mosul and using human shields to keep from being attacked. The bridges traversing the river have been destroyed, so that is their best means of escape, but there are reports of bodies littering the waterway. Yesterday, it was reported that snipers were shooting at targets across the river.
At least 39 were killed and 49 were wounded:
Fourteen people were killed and 13 more were wounded in a pair of bombings in Tal Keif. Security personnel were among the casualties.
Car bombs in Mosul killed 12 and wounded five more.
In Baghdad, a bomb killed seven people and wounded 20 in Abu Dsheer. A bomb in Nahrawan killed one person and wounded four more.
Two people were killed and seven were wounded when they trigged a roadside bomb while fleeing Hawija. Militants killed three others: a woman, her child, and an elderly man.
