Alalam - Iraq

The troops retook early Friday Al Muthanna neighbourhood, one of the biggest areas in eastern Mosul, before storming other districts."Our troops killed around 44 Daesh militants while advancing on the eastern side of Mosul," Major General Maan al-Saadi said.

"Most Daesh elements escaped towards the Tigris River as the military units advanced through the city," he added.

Iraqi forces are pressing ahead with the campaign launched in mid-October to retake Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city, which has been under Islamic State control since mid-2014.

Earlier Friday, Iraqi forces recaptured the northern village of Abu Dalf from ISIS hours after the extremist militia seized it in a surprise counter-attack.

A suicide bomber from Islamic State also blew himself up at a government military meeting in the area, killing three and injuring nine, a local security official said.

The forces, backed by helicopters, dislodged Daesh militants from the village in the northern province of Salah Al Din (Saladin).

"Six Daesh elements were also killed," one Iraqi official added. "The situation is completely under security forces' control."

Islamic State has been carrying out a string of counter-attacks in different parts of Iraq in an attempt to hamper an Iraqi military campaign to drive the extremist militia from its key stronghold of Mosul.

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