BAGHDAD (AP) – Sporadic clashes erupted in Mosul a day after Iraq’s prime minister declared “total victory” over the Islamic State group, with several airstrikes hitting the Old City neighborhood that was the scene of the fierce battle’s final days.
Plumes of smoke rose into the air Tuesday as IS mortar shells landed near Iraqi positions, and heavy gunfire could be heard on the western edge of the Old City.
Iraqi forces say they’ve regained full control of Mosul, the country’s second-largest city, three years after it was seized by extremists bent on building a global caliphate.
Meanwhile, Amnesty International warned in a report released Tuesday that the conflict in Mosul has created a “civilian catastrophe,” with the extremists carrying out forced displacement, summary killings and using civilians as human shields.
The report also detailed violations by Iraqi forces and the U.S.-led coalition.