Iraqi troops search for car bombs in Mosul fight

MOSUL, Iraq — Iraqi troops fighting Islamic State militants in the eastern outskirts of Mosul regrouped on Monday in neighborhoods they recently retook from the extremist group, conducting house-to-house searches and looking for would-be suicide car bombs, a top Iraqi commander said.

Maj. Gen. Sami al-Aridi of the Iraqi military’s special forces said his men also foiled two attempted suicide car bombings earlier in the day, firing from a U.S.-made tank on the approaching vehicles, which exploded before hitting their intended targets.

[...] Monday’s pause and the continuing danger to troops posed by suicide car bombs and sniper fire underline the difficulty of the campaign — even in eastern Mosul where Iraq’s most combat-seasoned troops are operating.

The resilience of the Islamic State fighters and the reluctance of the Iraqi military and its Western backers to use overwhelming firepower — in order to avoid civilian casualties — have led to the slow pace of the battle to retake Mosul.

[...] Mosul residents reached by telephone inside the city and two special forces’ officers said an air strike on Monday by the U.S.-led coalition destroyed a major bridge over the Tigris in the southern part of the city.