Iraq says 1,000 Daesh militants killed in Mosul battle

By Ali Jawad and Hussein al-Amir

NINEVEH, Iraq

Around 1,000 Daesh militants have been killed in more than two months of fighting in Mosul's Old City, according to a top Iraqi police commander.

In a statement on Sunday, federal police chief Lieutenant General Raed Jawdat said Iraqi forces have destroyed scores of Daesh car-bombs and rockets during the fighting.

The statement, however, did not give details about losses of the Iraqi forces in the battle.

Earlier Sunday, an Iraqi police officer said at least 23 soldiers had been killed in clashes with Daesh militants in Mosul's Old City in the past two days.

Since October, the Iraqi forces, backed by a U.S.-led air coalition, have been trying to dislodge Daesh from Mosul, the terrorist group's last stronghold in northern Iraq.