Iraqi soldier saves his squad by driving a bulldozer into an ISIS suicide car bomb, forcing it to explode

Dramatic footage purports to show an Iraqi soldier deliberately ramming a bulldozer into an ISIS car bomb to save his unit.


The video, shot from the driver's point of view, is said to show the soldier driving through the dusty and rubble-strewn streets of Mosul.


He then steers the heavy duty vehicle into the path of the oncoming desert colored, armour-plated vehicle and pins it against a bomb battered building.


Seconds later, the red hue and deafening sound of the bomb blast fills the screen.


With the window shattered and camera covered in ash it becomes impossible to see the damage done, but the bulldozer continues to trudge along before


An alleged photo of the hero was shared online by Haidar Sumeri‏, a respected Middle Eastern conflict 'observer' who is followed by think-tanks and journalists alike.


'The Iraqi hero who used his bulldozer to ram and force the detonation of the Da'ish [ISIS] car bomb in Mosul is in good spirits & recovering well,' he wrote next to a picture of the man whose chest is bandaged up.


ISIS are believed to be planting bombs near their front doors in a desperate bid to stop them leaving Mosul, a federal police commander and witnesses have said


Having liberated the eastern half of the city in January, Iraqi forces are now preparing to make a final push against the jihadists after seven months of fighting.


Trapped in a shrinking area of the city, the militants are increasingly using the several hundred thousand civilians under their control as human shields to avoid being targeted or perhaps tarnish what Iraqi leaders describe as an imminent victory.


Backed by a US-led coalition, Iraqi forces have made rapid gains since opening a new front in northwest Mosul this month and have now dislodged ISIS from all but about 12-square-km of the city.


The militants, however, still control the Old City, where they are expected to make their last stand in the densely populated, narrow streets that are impassible for armoured vehicles, forcing Iraqi forces to advance on foot.


The Iraqi government is pushing to declare victory by the holy month of Ramadan, expected to begin on May 27, even if pockets of resistance remain in the Old City, according to military commanders.


Lieutenant General Abdul Ghani al-Assadi told state TV his elite Counter Terrorism Services (CTS) were advancing steadily in the Rifaie and Najjar districts, aiming to reach the western bank of Tigris river and complete the Old City's encirclement.