A member of the Iraqi special forces Counter Terrorism Service (CTS) patrols a street with an armoured vehicle in Mosul’s Al-Zahraa neighbourhood.

Coalition forces taking part in the battle against ISIS are poised to charge into Mosul University after recapturing strategic areas surrounding the campus, sources from the Counter Terrorism Service have confirmed.

Mosul University is being used as a command center by ISIS militants in their battle to keep joint Iraqi forces at bay.

“Iraqi joint security forces besieged the University of Mosul, after liberating the districts of Baladiyat, Hadba and Seddiq,” an official as part of the joint military efforts said.

A source told local Iraqi media that contents found in the university, from books to other resources, were stolen by ISIS over time and “transferred to an unknown location”.

Despite Mosul being overrun by ISIS militants in 2014, the university remained open for academic learning but reports suggest that subjects like literature and philosophy were suspended for fears of reprisal from the extremists.

Gates to the University of Mosul is shown before ISIS overran the city, and campus, in 2014.

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