Iraqi forces capture Mosul airport

Iraqi security forces, aided by the US military, captured the Mosul airport on Thursday in a major operation to liberate the city from ISIL, Reuters reports, Patria news agency.

Elite counter-terrorism forces advanced from the southwest and penetrated the Ghozlani military base, as well as the southwestern districts of Tal al-Rumman and al-Mamoun.

The loss of Mosul could mean the end of the Iraqi part of the militant caliphate in Iraq and Syria, which ISIL leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi proclaimed in this city.

A Reuters correspondent writes that he saw more than 100 civilians running to meet Iraqi forces from the al-Mamoun district. Some were injured.

- Daesh (the Arabic name for ISIL, editor's note) started fleeing when counter-terrorism Humvees (military off-road vehicles) entered al-Mamoun. We were scared, so we decided to flee towards the vehicles, Ahmed Atiya, one of the civilians, told Reuters reporters. "We were afraid of the shelling," he added.

Federal police and an elite unit of the Ministry of Interior managed to reach the airport through fighting, despite ISIL's counterattacks using car bombs, Reuters reporters from the area south of Mosul airport report.

Local police claim that militants are also using drones carrying bombs against Iraqi counter-terrorism forces advancing from the southwestern parts of the city.

- We are attacking ISIL from multiple directions to prevent regrouping, claims Captain Amir Abdul Kareem of the federal police, whose units are fighting near the Ghozlani military base. "This is the fastest way to defeat them quickly," he added.

Iraqi forces liberated the eastern part of Mosul from ISIL last month and began a new offensive against the militant group in the densely populated western Mosul this week.

The campaign, involving 100,000 Iraqi soldiers, Kurdish fighters, and Shia militias, has made rapid progress since the beginning of the year, thanks in part to new tactics and improved coordination.

US special forces in armored vehicles positioned near the Mosul airport are monitoring the progress of Iraqi forces.

The US military commander in Iraq stated that he believes Iraqi forces, aided by the US military, will recapture both ISIL strongholds in the next 6 months; the other is the Syrian city of Raqqa.

Iraqi forces anticipate a tougher fight than the one for eastern Mosul, partly due to the fact that tanks and armored vehicles cannot pass through the narrow passages that cut through the core of the western part of the city.

Militants have developed a network of passages and tunnels that help them hide among civilians and fight from these positions, as well as blend into the crowd after bombing operations, and monitor the movement of government forces, local residents explain, Reuters reporters on the ground report.