BAGHDAD: Heavy explosions shook eastern districts of the Islamic State-held city of Mosul early on Thursday, residents reported, shortly after the leader of the militant group tried to rally his followers against a
U.S.-backed Iraqi military offensive.
One resident in the east of the city, where Iraqi troops breached Islamic State defences earlier this week, said the militants fired dozens of rockets towards the Intisar, Quds and Samah neighbourhoods, where soldiers are closing in.
"We heard Islamic State members shouting 'Allahu Akbar' (God is greatest) loudly, followed by rocket fire," told Reuters by telephone.
"We heard the sounds of rockets firing one after the other and saw them flashing through the air. The house was shaking and we were terrified, not knowing what was taking place."
In an audio tape released in the early hours of Thursday, Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi told his followers not to retreat in the face of "this raging battle and total war", promising victory against their enemies.
Islamic State fighters in Mosul took to the streets on Thursday with their faces uncovered, and appeared more enthusiastic than in recent days, the Mosul resident said.
"They were saying ;we will fight till death. The caliph gave us a moral boost to fight the infidels in his speech'," he said.
Another witness from the Hadbaa neighbourhood of northern Mosul said that Islamic State vehicles were roaming the area and blasting out Baghdadi's speech, urging fighters to hold their positions.
Residents had stayed in their houses, believing that the recapture of the city would be swift "but it seems that the matter is taking longer than they anticipated", he said.
