Iraqi army soldiers patrol near Tigris River at Qayyarah Town, recently freed from Daesh terrorists in Mosul, Iraq on September 4, 2016. / AA.
NINEVEH, Iraq: Iraqi forces battling the Islamic State terrorist group on Sunday reached the banks of the Tigris River in the Old City of Mosul.
In a statement, Lieutenant General Abdul-Amir Yarallah, head of the Joint Operations Command, said the elite anti-terrorism forces captured al-Maydan district in western Mosul.
"Our forces have reached the Tigris riverbanks and are advancing on al-Qulayat district, the last target of the anti-terrorism forces," he said.
State television said Iraqi forces have raised the Iraqi flag on the Tigris riverbanks.
IS militants still hold a small pocket near the Tigris River, which divides Mosul into two spheres.
Since October, the Iraqi forces, backed by a U.S.-led air coalition, have been trying to dislodge IS from Mosul, the terrorist group's last stronghold in northern Iraq.
