Iraqi officials say their security forces have repelled a “major counter-attack” by ISIS forces against a district in western Mosul, with dozens of ISIS fighters forcing their way south of the Old City and temporarily seizing a number of buildings in the area.
The ISIS target was the Danadan District, and the territory captured spanned multiple city blocks. Dozens of fighters were reported killed in the fighting, and the ISIS fighters were ultimately expelled back into their portion of Mosul’s Old City.
The Old City is the last of ISIS’ territory in Mosul, where they have held densely populated areas for months despite Iraqi officials’ predictions that they were going to overrun this last ISIS holding within a matter of days. Despite these predictions, ISIS’ territorial holdings in Mosul have rarely changed recently.
Indeed if anything, ISIS’ ability to hold off advances into their territory in the Old City seems to have them trying to push out again into areas to try to seize territory. Last week, ISIS had launched another counter-offensive, trying to seize a town just south of Mosul, though this push too was unsuccessful. So long as ISIS continues to believe they have a chance at seizing territory from the Iraqi government, these counter-offensives will likely continue to be commonplace.