Residents of Iraq’s Daesh-held city of Mosul said on Wednesday that an air strike disabled the city’s last functioning bridge across the Tigris River, forcing residents to cross the river in boats and further disrupting the Daesh’s movement.

The residents, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity fearing for their safety, said the air strike happened at dawn on Monday. Iraqi and US-led international coalition officials were not available to comment.

Activists from inside Mosul published pictures on Tuesday night of the metal bridge, known as the Old Bridge, showing its twisted girders sinking into the water as boats were seen ferrying the residents from both banks. The bridge, which was built during the reign of King Ghazi in the 1930s, is considered one of the city’s iconic landmarks.

The northern city of Mosul had five bridges spanning the Tigris River, which runs through the of the city. Four of them have now been bombed in air strikes since the massive government military operation began on October 17, while one was disabled weeks before the operation began.

The Tigris River runs through the centre of Mosul, and until now most of the fighting has been on the eastern bank. Iraqi forces are expected to use pontoon bridges when they reach the river as they have done in previous military operations in other areas.

Fighting on all fronts, but centred mainly on Mosul’s eastern edge, has slowed recently as suicide car bombings, snipers and concern over the safety of civilians have hampered the Iraqi troops’ advance towards the city centre.

In a press conference on Tuesday, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi said Daesh militants have launched more than 900 car bombs against Iraqi troops so far during the Mosul operations, but didn’t give details on how many were driven by suicide bombers or were blown up before reaching their targets.

Al Abadi added that the offensive “is continuing ... God willing, there will be good news in the coming days.”

Mosul, about 225 miles (360 kilometres) northwest of Baghdad, is Iraq’s second-largest city and the last major Daesh urban bastion of their self-styled caliphate in the country. It fell into the hands of Daesh militants during their June 2014 onslaught that left the group in control of large swathes of northern and western Iraq.

source : gulfnews