WorldIraqi forces said Tuesday that they recaptured Mosul's train station, which has not been operational since jihadists siezed the city but was once one of the country's main rail hubs. Iraqi forces launched a major push to retake west Mosul from the Islamic State group last month, advancing in to the area from the south and retaking a series of neighbourhoods and sites including the provincial government headquarters and the famed Mosul museum. Lieutenant General Raed Shakir Jawdat, the commander of the federal police, said in a statement that his forces have added the train station as well as a nearby bus station to that list, both of which are located southwest of Mosul's Old City. Trains from Mosul once carried passengers as well, but have not done so since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein's regime by US-led forces in 2003, he said. Iraqi forces launched the massive operation to retake Mosul in October, first retaking its eastern side and then setting their sights on the smaller but more densely-populated west.

Source: Sunday Times March 14, 2017 12:22 UTC