ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Iraqi armed forces liberated the ISIS-destroyed Nabi Younis Shrine in the east of Mosul on Monday, as the group flees into the western part of the war-torn city.
 
“The Iraqi forces arrived in Nabi Younis Shrine which is located on the end of eastern Mosul,” said Rudaw reporter Hevidar Ahmed who is embedded with the Iraqi army and is the first journalist to reach the shrine. He added that the army has continued its advances.
 
“Nothing remains inside the shrine. It is all destroyed,” he added.
 
The Nabi Younis Shrine, where Prophet Jonah's tomb is located, is a sacred place for Muslims; however, it was bombed by ISIS in 2014.
 
The Iraqi armed forces already had announced they controlled 90-percent of the left bank of Mosul, numbering 61 neighborhoods.
 
“There are just five neighborhoods on the left bank of Mosul yet to be liberated,” Yahya Rasool, the Iraqi commander of the ‘We are Coming Nineveh’ operation announced on Sunday. “But, the Iraqi armed forces want to liberate the left side of Mosul this week — entirely,”
 
Since the second phase of the Mosul operation resumed on Dec. 29, ISIS has experienced major losses as the group was forced out of many neighborhoods and areas on the city’s left bank.
 
On Sunday and Monday, Iraqi forces made significant progress against ISIS. They announced the full liberation of southeastern and eastern Mosul, as well as retaking the strategic University of Mosul in the north.
 
According to Lt. General Abdul-Wahab al-Saadi from Iraq’s Golden Brigade, there are few remaining districts still held by ISIS, including Shurta, Muhandiseen, and Zaraai on the edge of the Tigris River from the eastern bank, and also Arabi district north of the city which the Iraqi army is tasked to liberate.