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MOSUL, Iraq, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi security forces on Saturday recaptured a town and two villages in south of the city of Mosul, while special forces fought heavy clashes with Islamic State (IS) militants as they pushed deeper into the eastern part of the city, a security source said.
The army's 9th armored Division continued their advance toward Mosul and managed to free the town of Khedhr al-Yas, which is the center of Nimrud area in south of Mosul, and nearby two villages of Qara-Shor and Kahriza, said a statement from the Joint Operations Command (JOC).
Nimrud area includes the archeological site of Nimrud, located some 30 km south of Mosul and freed from IS militants a few days ago.
The ancient Assyrian ruin site of Nimrud, which was part of the IS militants' campaign of destruction against heritage sites, was founded in the 13th century B.C. and became the capital of Assyrian empire.
In eastern Mosul, the commandos of the Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) continued clashes with the IS militants to gain more ground in Mosul and managed during the day to recapture parts of the Muharibin and Mu'alimen districts, the JOC statement said.
The troops started later in the day a clearing operation in the freed areas to defuse dozens of booby-traps planted by the extremist militants, the JOC statement said.
The security forces have been fighting to push deeper into the eastern side of the city, locally known as left bank of the Tigris River, but met resistance of the militants, who are fighting in small groups of well-trained fighters with snipers, suicide bomb attacks and many landmines, in addition to the heavy presence of civilians in their homes in Mosul districts.
After more than a month of military operations against IS militants inside Mosul, almost 60,000 people have been registered as displaced and this number went up every day, according to the recent report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Oct. 17 announced a major offensive to retake Mosul, the country's second largest city.
Since then, the Iraqi security forces have inched to the eastern fringes of Mosul and made progress on other routes around the city.
Early in the month, hundreds of the CTS commandos and Iraqi army made a significant progress at the eastern side of Mosul and managed to recapture more than 10 districts out of about 60 districts on both sides of the city.
Mosul, some 400 km north of Iraqi capital of Baghdad, has been under the IS control since June 2014, when Iraqi government forces abandoned their weapons and fled, enabling IS militants to take control of parts of Iraq's northern and western regions.
