Iraqi army makes gains in Mosul as ISIS suicide blasts kill 28 in Baghdad
MOSUL, Iraq – The commander of Iraq’s counter-terrorism forces announced on Saturday that they had taken control of two more neighborhoods in eastern Mosul as twin blasts in Baghdad killed 28 and wounded 50 others. “We have closed doors upon ISIS after pushing them back in both Quds one and two neighborhoods,” Abdulghani Assadi, Iraqi counter-terror commander, told Rudaw in an exclusive interview, reporting high casualties among ISIS. “ISIS causalities are on the rise. 2,000 militants have been killed so far,” Assadi added, saying that clearing the east side of the city will happen within days. “ISIS is no longer in Quds,” Assadi said, declaring victory in a neighborhood that is next to Karama where militants are fiercely resisting in an effort to maintain their grip on the area. The Iraqi army has liberated more than 40 neighborhoods in their operation that began on October 17 to recapture the country’s second largest city, Mosul, from the militants. ISIS militants have d