Iraqi forces gain ground in western Mosul

An Iraqi military commander said Friday his forces have completed the liberation of another neighborhood in western Mosul.
Brig. Gen. Yahya Rasool, spokesman of the Joint Military Operations Command, told AP that despite bad weather, Iraqi special operations forces retook the Wadi Hajar area from Daesh militants.
However, commanders on the ground said that clearing operations were continuing. Wadi Hajar lies just northwest of the city’s international airport.
Meanwhile, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) condemned “in the strongest possible terms” the use of chemical weapons during the fighting. Five children and two women received treatment for exposure to chemical agents near Mosul.
The organization said it did not know which side used the chemical agents that caused blisters, redness in the eyes, irritation, vomiting, and coughing.
The US has warned that Daesh could use weapons containing sulfur mustard agents to repel the offensive on the northern Iraqi city.
ICRC medical teams were supporting local medical teams treating the seven patients, who were admitted over the past two days to Rozhawa Hospital in Irbil, east of Mosul, the organization said. 

Source: Arab News