International coalition jets have carried out an expansive shelling operation on Islamic State (IS) bases in Mosul, prompting the jihadist group to restrict movement within the city.

A Peshmerga source has told BasNews that the jets shelled a security forces building in the city, currently the main base of IS insurgents in Mosul. It is located in the Jisuq area of northern Mosul.

The source said that a large number of extremists were killed and many others taken to the main hospital in Mosul.

After the airstrikes on Tuesday night, militants took to the streets using sound systems to warn people against travelling around the city.

Lieutenant General in the Peshmerga Ministry Jamal Muhammad told BasNews that this aerial campaign began a few days ago.

“The airstrikes have inflicted huge damage on IS bases inside Mosul, and will have weakened the morale of the militants,” said Muhammad

Meanwhile, a source from the Peshmerga at Mosul Dam told BasNews that coalition jets targeted a cement factory near Mosul Dam that IS used as a base.

The source said that they witnessed the airstrikes using binoculars, describing them as “destructive and powerful.”

“We listened in on the field radios used by IS. The insurgents kept screaming and asking for help, calling each other and saying that they have large number of wounded.

They didn’t reveal the number of dead militants because they know that Peshmerga forces might hear them,” said the source.

There have been rumours of a timetable for an operation to free Mosul, especially from US officials who expect it to start in April and May.

However there has been no confirmation that the latest attacks on Mosul are the start of the operation to free the city, which has been under control of the Islamic State militants since June last year.

Source: BasNews