Mosul: Iraqi forces begins to liberate eastern Mosul neighborhood

Mosul: Iraqi forces begins to liberate eastern Mosul  neighborhood 

Story highlights
Iraqi forces strike ISIS positions in four eastern neighborhoods; encounter fierce resistance
Entering the city is a significant breakthrough, but troops face enormous challenges
Mosul, Iraq (CNN)Buoyed after breaching the city limits of Mosul for the first time two years, Iraqi troops are engaged in hard-fought battles with militants to liberate the easternmost neighborhoods of the ISIS stronghold.

Iraqi forces have started storming the neighborhoods of al-Karama, al-Zahra, al-Qudes, and al-Tahrir, Maj. Gen. Maan al-Saadi, commander of Iraqi counter-terrorism special forces tells CNN.
Government troops struck ISIS positions early Friday morning, sending the militant group's ambulances rushing to the scene to extricate their wounded and dead.
A CNN team on the outskirts of Mosul heard loud clashes, bombing from air support and artillery fire. The team also witnessed Iraqi Humvees racing towards the neighborhoods in eastern Mosul.
Military radio chatter suggested that snipers on rooftops, along with militants firing from positions where civilians are present, were complicating the fight back