By Sarhad Shaker and Ali Jawad

BAGHDAD

At least 120 Daesh terrorists were killed in western Mosul during an Iraqi operation to capture a strategic district in the area, Iraqi authorities said Saturday.

On Friday, Iraqi forces recaptured Al-Sihha district in the city's western side after deadly clashes with Daesh militants.

"The terrorist organization has lost 120 militants during the fight," Bri. Gen. Sabah al-Numan, a spokesman for the Counter-Terrorism Agency, said in a statement.

He said Iraqi forces are moving to tighten the noose around Daesh militants in Mosul's Old City.

Army General Adul Amir Yarallah, the commander of the Nineveh Liberation Campaign, said Friday his forces had taken Al-Sihha district from Daesh, which now controls small areas in the city's western side.

Iraq has been roiled by violence since Daesh seized vast swathes of territory in northern and western Iraq in 2014.

Iraqi forces, backed by air cover from a U.S.-led coalition, are currently engaged in a widespread offensive to dislodge Daesh from Mosul, the terrorist group’s last stronghold in Iraq.