Special Force of Iraq declares completion of Mission Mosul

Special Force of Iraq declares completion of mission in Mosul, after it retook the last western district from Islamic State militant group.

Despite ongoing battles in a handful of western Mosul neighborhoods that continue to force hundreds of civilians to flee each day, the announcement has come out. Around eight kilometer of Mosul is still under control of IS. It also includes the dense Old City of Mosul. 
Sabah al-Numan, spokesperson for special force of Iraq, said that his troop has completed initial mission successfully. The troop is also ready to support other forces battling against IS militants, if instructed by the Prime Minister.

In central and southern Iraq, 27 people have been killed by serial bombing. According to military commander, a suicide bombing today near the oil-rich city of Basra killed at least eight people and wounded 41 others.

Chief of the Basra Operations Command, Lt. Gen. Jamil al-Shimmari, said that five civilians and three troops were killed when the bomber blew up his explosives-laden car yesterday at a checkpoint north of Basra just behind a bus waiting to be cleared.
A second attacker drove down a desert road after the explosion and security forces killed him, al-Shimmari added. In an online statement, IS claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it targeted Shiites.
Basra, about 550 kilometers (340 miles) southeast of Baghdad, is home to about 70 percent of the country's proven oil reserves of 153.1 billion barrels. Located on the Persian Gulf and bordering Kuwait and Iran, the city is also Iraq's only outlet to the sea and the hub for most of the country's oil exports, with 3.23 million barrels exported from Basra last month.

An online statement also stated that IS also claimed responsibility for the double suicide bombings in Baghdad overnight that killed at least 19 people and wounded 33.
Iraqi forces, backed by the US-led coalition, officially launched the operation to retake Mosul in October and the city's east was declared "fully liberated" in January.
The fight for Mosul west was marked as the most grueling and deadly combat between IS and Iraq’s army.