An Iraqi military source revealed that the halt to progress towards the old Mosul area was in favor of IS organization, indicating that the available information confirms that IS took large fortifications for its militants, and planted many mines in the crowded streets and entrances of the town. 

He pointed out that the procedures of IS and its fortifications further complicated the security scene in the city, and reduced the chances of Iraqi forces to storm the city soon, and also cut the way to the bombing on the city, because it will cause bombings and the signing of victims of civilians. He stressed that storming of the city requires the development of new plans in line with recent developments, and fortifications of the organization.

The difficult field conditions forced the Iraqi military units to resort to maneuvers to disrupt and prevent attacks against them, while the military leadership has not yet reached a new plan to move the units towards the city, without causing civilian casualties. Iraqi forces are advancing slowly in Mosul, far from the center of the city, as troops concentrate on progress in the south and west axes of the right coast.
 
 An officer in the Ninewa Operations Command confirmed that the forces were advancing on the outskirts of Yarmouk neighborhood, south of the right coast, and continued to liberate the remaining areas. The officer explained that the forces are facing intermittent clashes with IS organization, in the outskirts of the neighborhood, but the organization can not continue the clashes for a long time, and forced to retreat in most areas. 

The officer also indicated that the forces are also advancing in the western district of Tnk, and seek to encircle the organization fully In the southern and western axes, and they are close to achieving its goals. "We are waiting for new plans to move towards the center of the old city and to liberate it," he said.

While a local source in the province of Salah al-Din said, Saturday, that three fighters of IS were killed by an air strike that targeted their hideout in al-Mutaibaija area, on borders between Diyala and Salahuddin.
 
The source said that an air strike targeted a hideout belonging to the Islamic State in western Mutaibaija, on borders between Salahuddin and Diyala, killing three fighters of the terrorist group. The hideout was specialized to hide the members who sneak from Hawija into Mutaibaija, then toward Diyala or other areas of Salahuddin, the source added.
 
Noteworthy, many of the Islamic State’s hideouts in Mutaibaija were bombarded by the Army Aviation in the last few months, resulting in the killing of dozens of the terrorist group’s militants.