File Photo.
NINEVEH, Iraq: At least 13 pro-government fighters were killed in the fight to capture the center of al-Qayrawan district in western Iraq's Mosul city from IS terrorist group on Monday night, according to a militia commander on Tuesday.
The Hashd al-Shaabi militia wrestled control of the district’s center from IS early Tuesday following an overnight offensive.
“Thirteen fighters were killed and nine others injured in the operation,” Mohammad Reda al-Hassani told Anadolu Agency.
He said 41 IS militants had also been killed in the fight.
In February, Iraqi forces -- with air cover provided by a U.S.-led coalition -- began fresh operations aimed at purging IS from western Mosul, the terrorist group’s last stronghold in the region.
The offensive came as part of a wider campaign launched last October to retake the entire city, which IS overran -- along with other parts of the country -- in mid-2014.
