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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2016/oct/17/mosul-battle-iraq-isis-islamic-state-peshmerga-latest
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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Mosul assault: forces launch mass attack on Iraqi city in bid to oust Isis – latest | Mosul assault: forces launch mass attack on Iraqi city in bid to oust Isis – latest |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 5.35am BST | |
| 05:35 | |
| Half a million children in the firing line | |
| While the fighters prepare for the assault, it is worth pausing to consider the plight of the civilians living inside Mosul. | |
| Save the Children has warned that the lives of more than half a million children now hang in the balance. | |
| Aram Shakaram, Save the Children’s Deputy Country Director in Iraq, said: | |
| Unless safe routes to escape the fighting are established, many families will have no choice but to stay and risk being killed by crossfire or bombardment, trapped beyond the reach of humanitarian aid with little food or medical care. | |
| Those that try to flee will be forced to navigate a city ringed with booby traps, snipers and hidden landmines. Without immediate action to ensure people can flee safely, we are likely to see bloodshed of civilians on a massive scale. | |
| 5.26am BST | |
| 05:26 | |
| Images from outside Mosul show peshmerga fighters and the Iraqi army preparing for the assault. | |
| 5.18am BST | |
| 05:18 | |
| Martin Chulov | |
| More here from Martin Chulov as the convoy he is with moves forward: | |
| Isis held villages now several miles away. Shrouded in a black haze caused by oil poured into moats around Mosul and set alight. The defence of the city has been medieval. | |
| Bulldozers are now moving forward to breach earth berms. There are likely to be explosives hidden in the ground. | |
| Updated | |
| at 5.27am BST | |
| 5.10am BST | 5.10am BST |
| 05:10 | 05:10 |
| In an analysis of the challenge facing the Iraqi authorities in Mosul, Martin Chulov and Patrick Wintour write that while victory over the terror group appears very likely, gnawing doubts remain over what comes next. | In an analysis of the challenge facing the Iraqi authorities in Mosul, Martin Chulov and Patrick Wintour write that while victory over the terror group appears very likely, gnawing doubts remain over what comes next. |
| While military moves are at an advanced stage, the questions of how to provide for up to 1.3 million refugees, or how to re-establish governance in a city brutalised by two years of tyranny is increasingly consuming aid agencies and regional officials, some of whom believe that whatever emerges from Mosul will determine the fate of Iraq. | While military moves are at an advanced stage, the questions of how to provide for up to 1.3 million refugees, or how to re-establish governance in a city brutalised by two years of tyranny is increasingly consuming aid agencies and regional officials, some of whom believe that whatever emerges from Mosul will determine the fate of Iraq. |
| Read the full story here: | Read the full story here: |
| 5.05am BST | 5.05am BST |
| 05:05 | 05:05 |
| The battle plan | The battle plan |
| 5.03am BST | 5.03am BST |
| 05:03 | 05:03 |
| Martin Chulov | |
| The sun is over the horizon and a large column of battle trucks and bulldozers are edging across a mountain towards Isis held villages. Artillery is thudding. | The sun is over the horizon and a large column of battle trucks and bulldozers are edging across a mountain towards Isis held villages. Artillery is thudding. |
| Isis is believed to have heavily mined roads leading into its territory. They are thought to have placed large numbers of IEDs in the villages it continues to cling to. | Isis is believed to have heavily mined roads leading into its territory. They are thought to have placed large numbers of IEDs in the villages it continues to cling to. |
| The Iraqi government had previously asked for Mosul residents to stay in their homes however aid agencies are bracing for as many as 300,000 people to flee the city in the coming days. | The Iraqi government had previously asked for Mosul residents to stay in their homes however aid agencies are bracing for as many as 300,000 people to flee the city in the coming days. |
| Updated | |
| at 5.10am BST | |
| 4.56am BST | 4.56am BST |
| 04:56 | 04:56 |
| Reporters on the scene have been tweeting about the beginning of the offensive. | Reporters on the scene have been tweeting about the beginning of the offensive. |
| Advancing across the plains #Peshmerga in the battle for #Mosul pic.twitter.com/A46TYX4dMR | Advancing across the plains #Peshmerga in the battle for #Mosul pic.twitter.com/A46TYX4dMR |
| Sun coming up over Mosul. Growing # of thuds from airstrikes & artillery in the area. | Sun coming up over Mosul. Growing # of thuds from airstrikes & artillery in the area. |
| Peshmerga now firing mortars down from hill In Bashiqa. Can hear thumps as they land #Mosul | Peshmerga now firing mortars down from hill In Bashiqa. Can hear thumps as they land #Mosul |
| Peshmerga forces moving forward on the Khazir front this morning pic.twitter.com/nwCY7fQEy7 | Peshmerga forces moving forward on the Khazir front this morning pic.twitter.com/nwCY7fQEy7 |
| 4.55am BST | 4.55am BST |
| 04:55 | 04:55 |
| Martin Chulov | Martin Chulov |
| Columns or armour started moving toward towns to the north east of Mosul just after 5.30am local time. | Columns or armour started moving toward towns to the north east of Mosul just after 5.30am local time. |
| Earlier Kurdish forces had stood around bonfires singing battle hymns ahead of the move. You could hear air strikes sounding in the distance from midnight along with a regularly artillery barage. | Earlier Kurdish forces had stood around bonfires singing battle hymns ahead of the move. You could hear air strikes sounding in the distance from midnight along with a regularly artillery barage. |
| An acrid smog has hung over the mountains and the plains leading to Mosul caused by oil fires that Isis had lit in anticipation of this attack over the past few days. It has shrouded the battlefield in a noxious haze. | An acrid smog has hung over the mountains and the plains leading to Mosul caused by oil fires that Isis had lit in anticipation of this attack over the past few days. It has shrouded the battlefield in a noxious haze. |
| Updated | |
| at 5.19am BST | |
| 4.55am BST | 4.55am BST |
| 04:55 | 04:55 |
| Battle for Mosul begins | Battle for Mosul begins |
| A long-awaited offensive to seize back Mosul after two years of Isis control has begun with columns of armour and military starting to move on the Northern Iraqi city. | A long-awaited offensive to seize back Mosul after two years of Isis control has begun with columns of armour and military starting to move on the Northern Iraqi city. |
| The start of the offensive, which has been months in the planning, was announced in an address on state television by Iraq’s prime minster in the early hours of Monday morning. | The start of the offensive, which has been months in the planning, was announced in an address on state television by Iraq’s prime minster in the early hours of Monday morning. |
| Haider al-Abadi said: “We have been battling Isis for more than two years. We started fighting Isis in the outskirts of Baghdad, and thank God we are now fighting them in the outskirts of Mosul, and God willing the decisive battle will be soon.” | Haider al-Abadi said: “We have been battling Isis for more than two years. We started fighting Isis in the outskirts of Baghdad, and thank God we are now fighting them in the outskirts of Mosul, and God willing the decisive battle will be soon.” |
| Read the full story here: | Read the full story here: |