Militants make futile bid to swim across Tigris

IRBIL, June 28 (KUNA) -- Militants of the so-called Islamic State on Wednesday attempted to cross the Tigris river from old sector of Mosul but their desperate bid was aborted, the military said.
The Joint Operations Command said in a statement "five terrorists drawing a rubber dinghy loaded with gear and equipment tried to swim across the river toward the left side of the city." Government troops spotted the gunmen and called on them on loudspeakers to give up, however, they opened fire toward the regulars upon reaching the other bank of the river, the statement added. The forces retaliated killing all of the them.
Earlier, the Iraqi federal police said in a statement that they killed at least 63 members of the so-called Islamic State (IS) during operations in Mosul's old city.
The force also managed to kill five IS leaders during the operation, Head of Iraq's federal police, Raed Shaker Jawdat, said.
The federal police force have engaged in fierce clashes with at least 300 IS members, he revealed.
Jawdat added his forces controlled around 70 percent of Mosul's old city and that IS suffered heavy losses.
At least 5,000 civilians detained by IS and the force are fighting to rescue them, said the official.
The Iraqi government forces have been engaged in fierce fighting with the militants, holed up in the city old sector. (end) sbr.ss.rk