Irbil, Iraq (CNN) Iraqi forces have taken control of several key government buildings and a bridge in western Mosul.

Among the buildings re-captured from ISIS on Monday were the Mosul Museum , the judicial government complex and the Nineveh police directorate building, Abdel Amir al-Mohamadi, Commander of the Rapid Response Forces of the Iraqi Federal Police, told CNN.

The supreme court, central bank and electricity and water authority headquarters were also re-taken.

Smoke rises following an airstrike in western Mosul during the offensive Monday.

It is the first time these buildings have been under Iraqi government control since 2014. Located in a strategic area, the recaptured buildings will provide better access to Mosul's old city, which forces are seeking to recapture.

"The Mosul museum is completely destroyed and leveled to the ground. ISIS militants have looted and destroyed the museum artifacts and have rigged explosives around the buildings and leveled it to the ground," al-Mohamadi told CNN.

The offensive to retake Mosul, Iraq's second most populous city, began in October 2016.

Divided into east and west by the Tigris river, the forces are now in the second phase, launched on February 19, to clear militants from the west, having liberated the east in January.

Iraqi forces also captured the the Al-Huriya bridge on Monday, the second of five bridges across the Tigris to be seized from ISIS control, according to Iraqi federal police.

In February, the International Rescue Committee warned this part of the operation to retake Mosul could be the "most dangerous phase" for civilians as Iraqi troops seek to secure densely populated areas amid ISIS resistance.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and Iraq's Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces arrived in Mosul Tuesday to inspect the ground forces that won back the government area on Monday, according to a statement from the Iraqi Prime Minister's office. </s> Iraqi forces have recaptured three neighbourhoods in their offensive to wrestle contol of West Mosul from the Islamic State (IS) group (AFP Photo/ARIS MESSINIS)

Mosul (Iraq) (AFP) - Iraqi forces said Tuesday they had seized the main government offices in Mosul and its famed museum as they made steady progress in their battle to retake the city's west from jihadists.

The advances, which also included the recapture of three neighbourhoods, were announced on the third day of a renewed offensive against the Islamic State group in west Mosul -- the largest remaining urban stronghold in the "caliphate" IS declared in 2014.

Supported by the US-led coalition bombing IS in Iraq and Syria, Iraqi forces began their push against west Mosul on February 19. The advance slowed during several days of bad weather but was renewed on Sunday.

The latest gains have brought government forces closer to Mosul's densely populated Old City, where hundreds of thousands of civilians are believed to still be trapped under jihadist rule.

Iraq's Joint Operations Command (JOC) said federal police and the elite Rapid Response Division had been able to "liberate" the Nineveh provincial government headquarters.

They also seized control of the Al-Hurriyah bridgehead, it said, in a step towards potentially relinking west Mosul with the city's east, which government forces seized earlier in the offensive.

All the bridges crossing the Tigris in Mosul have been damaged or destroyed, and Iraqi forces would either have to repair them or instal floating bridges to reconnect the two banks of the river dividing the city.

Officers said Tuesday security forces had also managed to recapture the Mosul museum, where the jihadists destroyed priceless artefacts, releasing a video of their rampage in February 2015.

The video showed militants at the museum knocking statues off their plinths and smashing them to pieces. A jackhammer was also used to deface a large Assyrian winged bull at an archaeological site in the city.

"Rapid Response entered the museum... there is nothing there," Lieutenant Colonel Abdulamir al-Mohammedawi said.

The jihadists' attacks on ancient heritage in Iraq and Syria have sparked widespread international outrage and fears for some of the world's most precious archaeological sites.

The museum was on a police list released Tuesday of sites recaptured from IS, which also included Mosul's central bank building, which the jihadists looted along with other banks in 2014, seizing tens of millions of dollars.

The JOC also announced Tuesday that Iraqi forces had regained complete control of the west Mosul neighbourhoods of Al-Dawasa, Al-Danadan and Tal al-Ruman, and were advancing against the jihadists in other areas.

In Al-Danadan, streets were left strewn with rubble and windows were blown out of many houses.

"There were mortar rounds falling on us, they fell on the roof and in the courtyard," said Manhal, a 28-year-old resident.

The fighting in west Mosul has forced more than 51,000 people to flee their homes, according to the International Organization for Migration.

But the number who have fled is still just a fraction of the 750,000 people believed to have stayed on in west Mosul under IS rule.

Emerging from the chaos of the civil war in neighbouring Syria, IS seized control of large parts of Syria and Iraq in mid-2014, declaring its Islamic "caliphate" and committing widespread atrocities.

The US-led coalition launched air strikes against the jihadists in both countries several months later, and has backed both Iraqi forces and fighters in Syria battling IS.

The jihadists have been pushed from most of the territory they once seized but still control key bastions including west Mosul and the caliphate's de facto Syrian capital Raqa.

In Syria, they have faced offensives by three rival forces.

Turkish troops and their Syrian rebel allies have pushed south from the Turkish border and driven IS out of the northern town of Al-Bab.

Syrian government troops have driven east from second city Aleppo with Russian support and seized a swathe of countryside from the jihadists.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor of the conflict, said Tuesday regime forces had recaptured a key water pumping station that supplies water to second city Aleppo.

"Regime forces took over the area of Al-Khafsa and seized the water-pumping station after the withdrawal of the IS jihadists," it said.

Thousands of civilians have fled Al-Khafsa for Manbij since Monday, said a source in the Manbij Military Council. A Syrian military source quoted by state media said the army continued its advance to "restore security and stability to Al-Khafsa" and surrounding towns. A US-backed alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters has been advancing on Raqa, and on Monday reached the Euphrates River cutting the main road to the partly IS-held city of Deir Ezzor downstream. World powers have vowed increased cooperation in tackling the global threat from IS, which from its base in Syria and Iraq has organised or inspired a series of deadly attacks in foreign cities. Turkish, Russian and US military chiefs held talks on Tuesday in the southern Turkish city of Antalya on issues including cooperation in Iraq and Syria. Meanwhile, the White House said it will host Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi in Washington later this month. </s> Elite Iraqi security forces dislodged Islamic State militants from the main government building in Mosul on Tuesday, their last major city stronghold in Iraq, an Iraqi spokesman said.

A special Rapid Response team stormed the Nineveh governorate building and the surrounding government complex in an overnight operation, Lieutenant Colonel Abdel Amir al-Mohammadawi, a spokesman for the elite interior ministry unit, told Reuters.

“They killed tens from Daesh,” he said, referring to the Islamic State group by one of its Arabic acronyms.

Recapturing the site would help Iraqi forces attack the militants in the nearby old city centre and mark a symbolic step towards restoring state authority over Mosul, even though the buildings are destroyed and not being used by Islamic State. </s> Elite Iraqi security forces dislodged Islamic State militants from the main government buildings in Mosul on Tuesday, their last major city stronghold in Iraq, an Iraqi spokesman said.

Mosul’s main museum, which was damaged and looted by the militants, was also taken, Lieutenant Colonel Abdel Amir al-Mohammadawi, a spokesman for the elite interior ministry Rapid Response units told Reuters.

A special Rapid Response team stormed the Nineveh governorate building and the surrounding government complex in an overnight raid that lasted about an hour, he said.

“They killed tens from Daesh,” he said, referring to the Islamic State group by one of its Arabic acronyms.

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Seizing the government complex would help Iraqi forces attack the militants in the nearby old city centre and mark a symbolic step towards restoring state authority over Mosul, even though the buildings are destroyed and not being used by Islamic State.

The battle for Mosul, which started on Oct. 17, will now enter a more complicated phase in the densely populated old city where, the Iraqi military believes, several thousand militants are among the remaining civilian population.

It was from the grand al-Nuri Mosque in the old city that Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared in 2014 a “caliphate” spanning parts of Iraq and neighboring Syria.

The old city lies on the western bank of the Tigris river that cuts Mosul in two halves. About 750,000 people were estimated by aid organizations to live in west Mosul when the offensive started on this side of the city on Feb. 19.

The Iraqi forces took the eastern half of the city in January, after 100 days of fighting.

A U.S.-led coalition is providing key air and ground support to the offensive in Iraq’s second-largest city. </s> Iraqi security forces have captured the main government buildings in western Mosul from the Islamic State group (IS), a senior Iraqi military commander says.

Lieutenant General Abdul-Amir Raheed Yar Allah said troops hoisted an Iraqi flag on the Nineveh government complex on Tuesday, hailing the federal police as "heroes".

He said the troops now controlled the western side of a second bridge across the Tigris River, known as Hurriyah Bridge.

Mosul's main museum, which was damaged and looted by the militants, was also seized by troops, according to Lieutenant Colonel Abdel Amir al-Mohammadawi, a spokesman for the elite Interior Ministry rapid response units.

"They killed tens from Daesh," he said, referring to IS by one of its Arabic acronyms.

The advance came more than two weeks since a new push to drive IS from Mosul, their last major city stronghold in Iraq.

The battle for Mosul will now enter a more complicated phase in the densely populated old city, where it is believed several thousand militants are among the remaining civilian population.

It was from the grand al-Nuri Mosque in the old city that IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared in 2014 a "caliphate" spanning parts of Iraq and neighbouring Syria.

The old city lies on the western bank of the Tigris river that cuts Mosul in two halves.

About 750,000 people were estimated by aid organisations to live in western Mosul when the offensive started on this side of the city on February 19.

Iraqi forces captured the eastern side of Mosul in January after 100 days of fighting.

A US-led coalition is providing key air and ground support to support the offensive, which started on October 17. </s> MOSUL, Iraq, March 7 (Reuters) - Iraqi government forces fighting to drive Islamic State from western Mosul on Tuesday recaptured the main government building, the central bank branch and the museum where three years ago the militants had smashed statues and artefacts.

The government buildings had been destroyed and were not used by Islamic State, but their capture still represented a symbolic victory in the battle over the militants' last major stronghold in Iraq.

An elite Rapid Response team stormed the Nineveh governorate building and government complex in an overnight raid, spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Abdel Amir al-Mohammadawi said.

They also seized a building that housed Islamic State's main court of justice, known for its harsh sentences, including stonings, throwing people off building roofs and chopping off hands, reflecting Islamic State's extreme ideology.

"They killed tens from Daesh," Mohammadawi said, referring to Islamic State by one of its Arabic acronyms. The raid took over an hour.

The militants looted the central bank when they took over the city in 2014 and took videos of themselves destroying statues and artifacts.

Illegal traffic in antiquities that abound in the territory under their control, from the sites of Palmyra in Syria to Nineveh in Iraq, was one of their main source of income.

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi flew into to Mosul to visit the troops engaged in the fighting.

The breakthrough paves the way for the U.S.-backed forces to attack the militants in the old city of Mosul, the most complicated phase in the nearly five-month campaign due to the density of the population and the narrowness of the alleyways. The militants are dug in amongst civilians in the historic district.

It was from the Nuri Mosque in the old city that the group's leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, declared in 2014 a caliphate also spanning parts of neighboring Syria.

The old city lies on the western bank of the Tigris river that cuts Mosul in two. About 750,000 people were estimated by aid organizations to live in west Mosul when the offensive started on this side of the city on Feb. 19.

The Iraqi forces took the eastern half in January, after 100 days of fighting. They are backed by air and ground support from a U.S.-led coalition.

Defeating Islamic State in Mosul would crush the Iraqi wing of the self-declared caliphate, which also suffering setbacks in Syria.

U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces cut the last main road out of the Islamic State capital there, Raqqa, on Monday. Islamic State is also fighting off the Russian-backed Syrian army as well as and Turkey and allied Syrian rebels.

The number of Islamic State fighters in Mosul was estimated at 6,000 at the start of the offensive on Oct. 17, by the Iraqi military who estimate several thousands have been killed since.

Lined up against them is a 100,000-strong force of Iraqi troops, Kurdish peshmerga fighters and Iranian-trained Shi'ite Muslim paramilitary groups.

More than 40,000 people fled their homes in the past week, bringing the total number of displaced since the start of the offensive to more than 21,000, according to the United Nations.

Dozens more streamed out of the Mamoun district in southwestern Mosul toward U.S.-trained Counter Terrorism Service (CTS) troops as machinegunfire rang out in the background.

U.S. special forces were also seen walking betweeen buildings in the same area, some of them carrying assault rifles with scopes and silencers. Helicopters attacked targets just north of their positions as thick smoke filled the sky from various explosions.

Agencies say camps to accommodate them are nearly full even though the United Nations said last month that more than 400,000 people still in western Mosul could be displaced.

Several thousands have been killed and wounded in the fighting, both civilians and military, according to aid organizations. (Writing by Maher Chmaytell; Editing by Angus MacSwan) </s> MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraqi forces on Tuesday recaptured the main government building in Mosul, the central bank branch and the museum where three years ago the militants filmed themselves destroying priceless statues.

A Rapid Response team stormed the Nineveh governorate complex in an overnight raid that lasted more than an hour, killing dozens of Islamic State fighters, spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Abdel Amir al-Mohammadawi said.

The buildings, already in ruins, were not being used by Islamic State, but their capture is a landmark in the push to retake the militants’ last major stronghold in Iraq, now restricted to the heavy populated western half of Mosul.

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi flew into to Mosul to visit the troops fighting to oust Islamic State from the city in which it declared its sprawling caliphate in 2014.

“Iraqis shall walk tall when the war is over,” Abadi told state TV as he arrived.

Islamic State snipers continued to fire at the main government building after it was stormed, restricting the movements of the soldiers, and forces pushing further into western Mosul came under rifle and rocket fire.

“The fighting is strong because most of them are foreigners and they have nowhere to go,” said the head of a sniper unit for the Rapid Response, al-Moqdadi al-Saeedi.

Some of Islamic State’s foreign fighters are trying to flee Mosul, U.S. Air Force Brigadier General Matthew Isler said.

“The game is up,” Isler told Reuters at the Qayyara West Airfield, south of the city. “They have lost this fight and what you’re seeing is a delaying action.”

Iraq’s Counter Terrorism Service (CTS), which spearheaded the assaults that won back east Mosul, was on Tuesday moving into the western half of the city, the final and trickiest battleground in the nearly five-month campaign due to the dense civilian population living in its narrow streets.

STREET BY STREET

The CTS forces had fought their way well into the Mansour neighborhood and were trying to advance street by street, sending heavy fire on IS sniper positions, a Reuters correspondent visiting the special forces’ front lines reported.

A disabled Iraqi girl who flees her home waits in a street for a truck to carry her to a safe place, as Iraqi forces battle with Islamic State militants, in western Mosul, Iraq March 7, 2017. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem

Federal Police units arrived at a house that CTS forces were stationed in but had to move out, one-by-one, to a neighboring building as IS rocket fire hit homes nearby.

One CTS operative on the ground said he thought it would take a few hours to retake Mansour, one of Mosul’s biggest neighborhoods which lies southwest of the old city and could serve as a base to advance into the historic center.

U.S. special forces were seen walking between buildings in the same area, some carrying assault rifles with scopes and silencers. Helicopters attacked targets just to the north and thick smoke filled the sky from various explosions.

Dozens of civilians streamed out of the Mamoun district toward the CTS troops as machinegun fire rang out in the background, adding to a wave of people displaced from Mosul that now numbers 211,000, 40,000 of whom fled last week alone, U.N. agencies say.

Some 750,000 people were estimated to live in west Mosul when the offensive began on Feb. 19.

Among the symbolic buildings retaken overnight was one that had served at Islamic State’s main court, known for sentences including stonings, throwing people off roofs and chopping off hands, reflecting the group’s hardline ideology.

The militants looted the central bank when they took over the city in 2014 and took videos of themselves destroying archaeological artifacts. Traffic in antiquities that abound in the territory under their control, from Palmyra in Syria to Nineveh in Iraq, was one of their main sources of income.

Slideshow (19 Images)

The number of Islamic State fighters in Mosul was estimated at 6,000 at the start of the offensive on Mosul on Oct. 17, by the Iraqi military which estimates that several thousands have been killed since.

Lined up against them is a 100,000-strong force of Iraqi troops, Kurdish peshmerga fighters and Iranian-trained Shi’ite Muslim paramilitary groups. </s> Iraqi security forces have advanced into the Old City of Mosul, where they are locked in pitched street battles with Islamic State (IS) militants.

Iraqi forces, backed by U.S. air strikes, launched an operation to retake west Mosul in February. The eastern half of the city was captured by government troops in January.

Firas al-Zuwaidi, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry's elite Rapid Response Force, said government forces were closing in on the Al-Nuri Mosque.

The mosque holds symbolic importance because it was where IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared his so-called caliphate in 2014.

Iraqi forces have recaptured a string of key targets in west Mosul, including the airport, the train station, and the provincial government headquarters.

Despite these gains, bad weather has hampered U.S. air support and the Old City's densely populated, narrow streets have restricted the use of large armored vehicles.

Based on reporting by AFP and Reuters </s> Mosul: Iraqi government troops recaptured captured the historic mosque in Mosul from where Islamic State proclaimed its self-styled caliphate three years ago, the Iraqi military said on Thursday.

Seizing the 850 year-old Grand al-Nuri Mosque hands a symbolic victory to the Iraqi forces who have been battling for more than eight month to recapture Mosul, the northern city that served as Islamic State`s de facto capital in Iraq.

"Their fictitious state has fallen," an Iraqi military spokesman, Brigadier General Yahya Rasool, told state TV referring to ISIS.

The insurgents blew up the medieval mosque and its famed leaning minaret a week ago as US-backed Iraqi forces started a push in its direction.

Their black flag had been flying from al-Hadba (The Hunchback) minaret, since June 2014.

Iraqi authorities expect the battle to end in the coming days as Islamic State has been bottled up in a handful of neighborhoods of the Old City.

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi "issued instructions to bring the battle to its conclusion," his office said on Wednesday.
The Iraqi Army retakes Mosul Museum as well as the main government building in Mosul.