Iraqi general says special forces have taken Mosul’s state TV building as they storm east of the city
Liberators from feared 'Golden Division' land hammer blow to ISIS militants with symbolic victory
IRAQI special forces have captured the ISIS propaganda stronghold in Mosul as liberators swept into the eastern part of the city.
The troops are thought to be from the elite Counter terrorism Service known as the 'Golden Division' - the feared fighting force who have been first on the ground in nearly every major fight against the terror group.
Thrilled generals reported government forces entered the outer suburbs of the city.
"We finished clearing Gogjali and took control of the Mosul television station building," Staff Lieutenant General Abdelwahab al-Saadi announced.
Earlier a military official announced the Iraqi army are ready to begin flooding Iraq's third-largest city - which is the last major settlement held by the terror group in the country.
Today's assault started at dawn and Iraqi special forces are spearheading the assault from the eastern fringes of Mosul.
But the liberating army's march forward is being stunted by suicide trucks driving at their lines.
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For two weeks, Iraqi forces and their Kurdish allies, Sunni tribesmen and Shi'ite militias have been converging on Mosul from all directions to drive ISIS from Iraq's second largest city.
The operation was expected to take weeks, if not months.
Shi'ite militia fighter Hadi al-Amiri warned news service Reuters: "The battle of Mosul will not be a picnic.
"We are prepared for the battle, even if it lasts for months".
The U.S. military estimates ISIS has 3,000 to 5,000 fighters inside Mosul and another 1,500-2,500 in the city's outer defensive belt.
The total number includes around 1,000 foreign fighters.
Those fighters are currently ruling a city of more than 1.5million people - five times larger than any other city the terror group has grabbed in Syria or Iraq.
Horrifying reports from the ground have revealed ISIS' increasing barbarism and desperation as the coalition army approaches.
Nearly 250 men were reported to have been executed after refusing to act as human shields for jihadist fighters.
A UN statement read: "ISIS executed 42 civilians in Hammam al-Alil, south of Mosul. Also on Wednesday ISIS executed 190 former Iraqi security forces for refusing to join them, in the Al Ghazlani base near Mosul."
Thousands of civilians are believed to be in the firing line after cowardly ISIS thugs used them as shields to cover their own back from advancing forces.
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