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Battle for Mosul: Isis city under attack from Iraqi and Kurdish forces – live news Battle for Mosul: Isis city under attack from Iraqi and Kurdish forces – live news
(35 minutes later)
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A Kurdish television network, Kurdistan24, recorded footage – earlier today of the moment a vehicle-based IED exploded in an attack on coalition forces.
The film was taken at some distance, but the ensuing explosion is massive enough to veil nearby vehicles in clouds of dust and sand.
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Near the front lives of Mosul with the men and women of the Kurdish peshmerga, my colleague Martin Chulov reports from the front lines, 10 miles from Mosul. “I know how much they would hate getting killed by a woman,” Lt Nivan Vechivan, 23, told him.
“It would be my honour to kill them.” Her soldiers, all in their early 20s, nodded in agreement. “We would all be martyrs if we had to be,” added another.
Minutes later, a large mortar thumped into the soil next to an armoured truck less than 40 metres away. Then came a second shell, which nearly scored a direct hit on a still-working digger. The Isis mortar team had maintained its range and rhythm, despite the Kurdish attacks.
Analysis Five key questions about the battle for MosulIraqi and Kurdish Peshmerga forces have begun a ground assault to oust Islamic State from Iraq’s second biggest cityRead more
Back up the mountain, another smoke fire had been lit in an area that seemed to be behind Kurdish positions. The fire came from a cluster of homes set against Bashika mountain, which the Kurds had bypassed as they pushed ahead. Two more mortars, which had to have come from the same area, crunched into the peshmerga command post, one damaging a home and the other nearly killing a group of men walking just below.
Further along the road to Erbil, a large empty refugee camp stood in the dust waiting to receive inhabitants that are yet to arrive. Aid agencies guess that more than 1 million people will attempt to flee Mosul and its surrounds as the offensive pushes closer. For now though, those who are able to leave are making long, difficult journeys to another camp, Dibaga. There, one man who arrived from Mosul on Sunday said the terror group was becoming ever more ruthless as pressure mounted on its last urban redoubt in Iraq.
“Isis became terrible with the residents lately,” said the man, 28, who claimed to have been part of a nascent resistance unit along with his brother, uncle and father. “Their situation is awful and they have started to flee. We haven’t seen many of them in the street lately, even at the checkpoints. There is no security. We’ve been arrested by them. They said we were (Mosul resistance). They knew we were planning to leave and they came to my house. We decided to run, because they were going to kill us. We all left at night, all the women too. We went to another house and then we left the city through a farm.
“You see them most at night. That’s when they leave their bases to make checkpoints and ask for identification. They’re mostly from Mosul. The foreigners left a while ago. I don’t know where they went. They have made a lot of trenches around the city. That’s all they can do. Burn things and run.”
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Mosul resident: Isis trying to hide with civilians
A 35-year-old Mosul resident, using the pseudonym Abu Mohammed, has told Fazel Hawramy, reporting for the Guardian, that Isis forces are trying to mix into the population, and that civilians have seen “too many beheadings, people being drowned in cafes, thrown from buildings”.A 35-year-old Mosul resident, using the pseudonym Abu Mohammed, has told Fazel Hawramy, reporting for the Guardian, that Isis forces are trying to mix into the population, and that civilians have seen “too many beheadings, people being drowned in cafes, thrown from buildings”.
Everyone is staying at home because we don’t know what else to do. Daesh [an Arabic acronym for Isis] are mostly moving around on motorbike and have small and heavy guns. The planes started bombing Mosul around one in the morning today, and they are in the sky constantly and occasionally striking targets. I would say the airstrikes are very precise but around 10% of casualties, in my estimate, are civilians.Everyone is staying at home because we don’t know what else to do. Daesh [an Arabic acronym for Isis] are mostly moving around on motorbike and have small and heavy guns. The planes started bombing Mosul around one in the morning today, and they are in the sky constantly and occasionally striking targets. I would say the airstrikes are very precise but around 10% of casualties, in my estimate, are civilians.
Daesh are moving into civilian houses and mixing with the population. For example Daesh has placed a large depot of IEDs in a house next to my cousin’s. I begged him to leave his house and bring his family to stay with me, as the house could be targeted by coalition. He refused and said [he accepts] whatever destiny brings.Daesh are moving into civilian houses and mixing with the population. For example Daesh has placed a large depot of IEDs in a house next to my cousin’s. I begged him to leave his house and bring his family to stay with me, as the house could be targeted by coalition. He refused and said [he accepts] whatever destiny brings.
People have had enough in Mosul. The majority want Daesh to go as soon as possible and would like to see the Iraqi army and peshmerga to enter the city.People have had enough in Mosul. The majority want Daesh to go as soon as possible and would like to see the Iraqi army and peshmerga to enter the city.
We have seen too many beheadings, people being drowned in cafes, thrown from top of buildings, etc. People have even offered to sacrifice animals if they see Daesh [go[ and get rid of them. I myself saw a man thrown off a building near the governor’s office around three months ago. I could not sleep for a week afterwards.We have seen too many beheadings, people being drowned in cafes, thrown from top of buildings, etc. People have even offered to sacrifice animals if they see Daesh [go[ and get rid of them. I myself saw a man thrown off a building near the governor’s office around three months ago. I could not sleep for a week afterwards.
It’s difficult for civilians to leave the city because a ditch has been dug around many neighborhoods, especially east of the city. There is also fighting – we cannot leave our houses.It’s difficult for civilians to leave the city because a ditch has been dug around many neighborhoods, especially east of the city. There is also fighting – we cannot leave our houses.
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Kurdish president: Peshmerga take 80 sq-miles from IsisKurdish president: Peshmerga take 80 sq-miles from Isis
The head of Iraq’s Kurdish region, Massoud Barzani, has said in a statement that Peshmerga forces have retaken 80 sq-miles (200 sq-kilometers) from Isis on the first day of the campaign.The head of Iraq’s Kurdish region, Massoud Barzani, has said in a statement that Peshmerga forces have retaken 80 sq-miles (200 sq-kilometers) from Isis on the first day of the campaign.
Barzani called the gains a “turning point in the war against terrorism,” but warned defeating Isis in the city would not mean the end of sectarian violence or terrorism in Iraq.Barzani called the gains a “turning point in the war against terrorism,” but warned defeating Isis in the city would not mean the end of sectarian violence or terrorism in Iraq.
He added that Kurdish forces will not enter the city itself, and declined to say who would govern territory seized by the Peshmerga. In the past, Kurdish officials have said all territory retaken by the peshmerga will be incorporated into the largely autonomous Kurdish region.He added that Kurdish forces will not enter the city itself, and declined to say who would govern territory seized by the Peshmerga. In the past, Kurdish officials have said all territory retaken by the peshmerga will be incorporated into the largely autonomous Kurdish region.
The general command of peshmerga forces also released a statement, saying that as of 10pm local time, their troops “had achieved their key objectives: clear nine villages and extend control over the Erbil-Mosul road.”The general command of peshmerga forces also released a statement, saying that as of 10pm local time, their troops “had achieved their key objectives: clear nine villages and extend control over the Erbil-Mosul road.”
In less than 24 hours nine villages were cleared in an area measuring approximately 200 square kilometres. The villages include Baskhira, Tarjala, Kharbat Sultan, Karbirli, Bazgirtan, Shaquli, Badana Bchuk, Badana Gawre, Shekh Amir and a tile factory West of Hasan Shami.In less than 24 hours nine villages were cleared in an area measuring approximately 200 square kilometres. The villages include Baskhira, Tarjala, Kharbat Sultan, Karbirli, Bazgirtan, Shaquli, Badana Bchuk, Badana Gawre, Shekh Amir and a tile factory West of Hasan Shami.
Peshmerga forces also secured an additional significant stretch of the Erbil-Mosul road. The operations in east and south Mosul are in coordination with Iraqi Security Forces in a shared effort to clear Isil from Ninevah province.Peshmerga forces also secured an additional significant stretch of the Erbil-Mosul road. The operations in east and south Mosul are in coordination with Iraqi Security Forces in a shared effort to clear Isil from Ninevah province.
Global coalition warplanes attacked 17 Isis positions in support of Peshmerga forces. At least four Isis VBIEDs were destroyed. Counter-IED teams will continue to clear the heavily-mined area.Global coalition warplanes attacked 17 Isis positions in support of Peshmerga forces. At least four Isis VBIEDs were destroyed. Counter-IED teams will continue to clear the heavily-mined area.
The region’s prime minister, Nechirvan Barzani, also released a statement, calling the campaign “an important event for the entire world since Isis used the city as a launching pad for attacks”. He praised peshmerga troops’ “resilience and heroism against the most dangerous terrorist organization in the world”, and said the Kurds are “proud to protect all different ethnic and religious groups in the region”.The region’s prime minister, Nechirvan Barzani, also released a statement, calling the campaign “an important event for the entire world since Isis used the city as a launching pad for attacks”. He praised peshmerga troops’ “resilience and heroism against the most dangerous terrorist organization in the world”, and said the Kurds are “proud to protect all different ethnic and religious groups in the region”.
You can read his full statement here.You can read his full statement here.
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The UN’s humanitarian coordinator for Iraq, Lise Grande, has said that in a worst case scenario about 700,000 civilians would need shelter – far more than the 60,000 capacity of current emergency cites.The UN’s humanitarian coordinator for Iraq, Lise Grande, has said that in a worst case scenario about 700,000 civilians would need shelter – far more than the 60,000 capacity of current emergency cites.
The displacement could become the single largest, most complex humanitarian operation in the world, the AP reports.The displacement could become the single largest, most complex humanitarian operation in the world, the AP reports.
“Our capacity to support 700,000 people in the short-term we couldn’t do it. And certainly if we had to mount a response over the intermediate-term, if they couldn’t go back to Mosul quickly, if there was too much damage in the city, then it would test us to breaking point,” Grande said.“Our capacity to support 700,000 people in the short-term we couldn’t do it. And certainly if we had to mount a response over the intermediate-term, if they couldn’t go back to Mosul quickly, if there was too much damage in the city, then it would test us to breaking point,” Grande said.
The news agency has also spoke with Iraq’s commander of the joint military operation, army lieutenant general Talib Shaghati, who said the campaign “is going very well”.The news agency has also spoke with Iraq’s commander of the joint military operation, army lieutenant general Talib Shaghati, who said the campaign “is going very well”.
Shaghati declined to give details in the interview, which took place in the town of Khazer, but said troops were moving according to plan.Shaghati declined to give details in the interview, which took place in the town of Khazer, but said troops were moving according to plan.
He praised the role of the U.S.-led International Coalition as “very important” through carrying out airstrikes and sharing intelligence. Citing intelligence information, he claimed some IS militants were fleeing Mosul to Syria along with their families.He praised the role of the U.S.-led International Coalition as “very important” through carrying out airstrikes and sharing intelligence. Citing intelligence information, he claimed some IS militants were fleeing Mosul to Syria along with their families.
The AFP’s Ammar Karim is also on the ground near Mosul, where he has tweeted figures from the coalition and video of Iraqi forces.The AFP’s Ammar Karim is also on the ground near Mosul, where he has tweeted figures from the coalition and video of Iraqi forces.
Steady progress on all fronts in first day of #Mosul operation. Coalition strikes destroyed 52 targets in 24 hours.Steady progress on all fronts in first day of #Mosul operation. Coalition strikes destroyed 52 targets in 24 hours.
#Iraq 9th division advances toward #Mosul from south eat, several villages has been recaptured . pic.twitter.com/HYRy1xwTfD#Iraq 9th division advances toward #Mosul from south eat, several villages has been recaptured . pic.twitter.com/HYRy1xwTfD
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What we know so farWhat we know so far
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The Pentagon spokesman elaborates a bit on efforts to alert Mosul residents about the dangers of the mission, noting leaflets, radio broadcasts and a television broadcast earlier today by prime minister Haider al-Abadi.The Pentagon spokesman elaborates a bit on efforts to alert Mosul residents about the dangers of the mission, noting leaflets, radio broadcasts and a television broadcast earlier today by prime minister Haider al-Abadi.
The instructions are meant to “make [residents] as aware as possible of the dangers they face, and they’re not insignificant, of course,” Cook says.The instructions are meant to “make [residents] as aware as possible of the dangers they face, and they’re not insignificant, of course,” Cook says.
A reporter asks about the spat between Ankara and Baghdad over the presence of Turkish forces in Iraq to fight Isis.A reporter asks about the spat between Ankara and Baghdad over the presence of Turkish forces in Iraq to fight Isis.
“Our advice to the Iraqis as to the Turks is to sit down and discuss” their disagreements, Cook says. “Forces operating in Iraq, international forces, need to be there at the consent of the Iraqi government.”“Our advice to the Iraqis as to the Turks is to sit down and discuss” their disagreements, Cook says. “Forces operating in Iraq, international forces, need to be there at the consent of the Iraqi government.”
He says it’s at the discretion of al-Abadi’s government to decide whether other groups, such as Shia militias – who with Sunni militias sowed chaos during Iraq’s brutal, post-invasion civil war – will take part in the fight. A Mosul city councilman told the Guardian earlier on Monday that he and his colleagues had urged al-Abadi not to let Shia militias join the fight for fear of sectarian violence.He says it’s at the discretion of al-Abadi’s government to decide whether other groups, such as Shia militias – who with Sunni militias sowed chaos during Iraq’s brutal, post-invasion civil war – will take part in the fight. A Mosul city councilman told the Guardian earlier on Monday that he and his colleagues had urged al-Abadi not to let Shia militias join the fight for fear of sectarian violence.
With that, the briefing concludes.With that, the briefing concludes.
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Cook calls the assessment of Mosul over the last two years as “pretty abysmal” under Isis, and that although the coalition is worried about the humanitarian situation, “the goal first of all is to remove Isil”.Cook calls the assessment of Mosul over the last two years as “pretty abysmal” under Isis, and that although the coalition is worried about the humanitarian situation, “the goal first of all is to remove Isil”.
He says the coalition plans to drop 7 million leaflets in Mosul over the next 48 hours to try to educate the residents of the city on how to stay safe or, if possible, escape Mosul.He says the coalition plans to drop 7 million leaflets in Mosul over the next 48 hours to try to educate the residents of the city on how to stay safe or, if possible, escape Mosul.
“Certainly there has been resistance from Isil,” Cook says, alluding to footage of artillery, small arms combat and explosions circulating online. “This is a big fight with multiple locations so fighting may be more intense in some locations than others.”“Certainly there has been resistance from Isil,” Cook says, alluding to footage of artillery, small arms combat and explosions circulating online. “This is a big fight with multiple locations so fighting may be more intense in some locations than others.”
A reporter asks about the simultaneous campaign in Syria, and Cook says the Pentagon is optimistic: “We think Isil is on the run, both in Syria and Iraq, and that’s a good thing.”A reporter asks about the simultaneous campaign in Syria, and Cook says the Pentagon is optimistic: “We think Isil is on the run, both in Syria and Iraq, and that’s a good thing.”
Another asks whether the US intends to send special forces on the ground to assist Turkish troops who have had recent successes in Syria. “You know me better,” Cook replies, “than for me to tell you where US special forces are going anywhere in the world.”Another asks whether the US intends to send special forces on the ground to assist Turkish troops who have had recent successes in Syria. “You know me better,” Cook replies, “than for me to tell you where US special forces are going anywhere in the world.”
My colleague Julian Borger, who is at the briefing, asks about the leaflets being dropped for the residents of Mosul.My colleague Julian Borger, who is at the briefing, asks about the leaflets being dropped for the residents of Mosul.
“These leaflets make clear that help is on the way,” Cook says. “There may be some specific guidance as to the safest place to be in your homes if there’s airstrikes or artillery or if the fight comes to be in your neighbourhood.”“These leaflets make clear that help is on the way,” Cook says. “There may be some specific guidance as to the safest place to be in your homes if there’s airstrikes or artillery or if the fight comes to be in your neighbourhood.”
He says that in certain parts of the city residents are being warned to stay in their homes, “because they may be safer in that context than trying to flee the city.”He says that in certain parts of the city residents are being warned to stay in their homes, “because they may be safer in that context than trying to flee the city.”
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“Most American forces are not anywhere close to the frontline,” Cook says, but he concedes that many remain in danger near Mosul and elsewhere in Iraq.“Most American forces are not anywhere close to the frontline,” Cook says, but he concedes that many remain in danger near Mosul and elsewhere in Iraq.
“We are crystal clear that Americans are in harm’s way in Iraq, but they are not in a lead role.”“We are crystal clear that Americans are in harm’s way in Iraq, but they are not in a lead role.”
The Pentagon spokesman says Isis has had two years to prepare for this campaign by setting traps in and around Mosul, “to plant IEDs to do what they can to make life more difficult for the Iraqi security forces, certainly to make life more difficult for the people of Mosul.”The Pentagon spokesman says Isis has had two years to prepare for this campaign by setting traps in and around Mosul, “to plant IEDs to do what they can to make life more difficult for the Iraqi security forces, certainly to make life more difficult for the people of Mosul.”
He calls Isis “an enemy with a substantial ability to make life much more difficult”.He calls Isis “an enemy with a substantial ability to make life much more difficult”.
Cook is again asked about Iraqi progress in the campaign. “This is the biggest military operation we’ve had in Iraq by the Iraqi forces,” Cook says. “Plenty of Americans have contributed to getting Iraqi forces into this position.Cook is again asked about Iraqi progress in the campaign. “This is the biggest military operation we’ve had in Iraq by the Iraqi forces,” Cook says. “Plenty of Americans have contributed to getting Iraqi forces into this position.
“By midday they had achieved roughly what they had intended to do. It’s day one, it’s early, but this had kicked off certainly the way the Iraqis had hoped,” he says. “Day one, so far, has gone according to plan.”“By midday they had achieved roughly what they had intended to do. It’s day one, it’s early, but this had kicked off certainly the way the Iraqis had hoped,” he says. “Day one, so far, has gone according to plan.”
He is asked whether there is an indication that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of Isis, might be in Mosul.He is asked whether there is an indication that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of Isis, might be in Mosul.
“I don’t have any information at this time,” Cook says.“I don’t have any information at this time,” Cook says.
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“There are Americans on the outskirts of the city,” Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook tells reporters, “but I’m not going to get into the disposition of every single American”.“There are Americans on the outskirts of the city,” Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook tells reporters, “but I’m not going to get into the disposition of every single American”.
He declines to get into any specifics about the movements or positions of various forces. “I can’t speak to the movement of every single Iraqi brigade or every single American.”He declines to get into any specifics about the movements or positions of various forces. “I can’t speak to the movement of every single Iraqi brigade or every single American.”
“There was a plan for Americans to provide that advisory role as they have through the course of this,” he says. “It is too soon to say at this point where these movements will go, where these Americans will go in this advisory capacity.“There was a plan for Americans to provide that advisory role as they have through the course of this,” he says. “It is too soon to say at this point where these movements will go, where these Americans will go in this advisory capacity.
“But what is important is that it will be the Iraqis in the lead.” He says Americans “are behind the forward line of troops, and they are providing the same sort of advice and assistance in Iraq as they were previously”.“But what is important is that it will be the Iraqis in the lead.” He says Americans “are behind the forward line of troops, and they are providing the same sort of advice and assistance in Iraq as they were previously”.
Cook is asked about the plan for if and when Isis militants are ousted from Mosul, but declines to get into specifics. “We do have concerns about the humanitarian situation,” and he says simply that the US has been coordinating with Baghdad and the UN.Cook is asked about the plan for if and when Isis militants are ousted from Mosul, but declines to get into specifics. “We do have concerns about the humanitarian situation,” and he says simply that the US has been coordinating with Baghdad and the UN.
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Pentagon: Iraqi forces are ahead of schedule
Peter Cook, a spokesman for the Pentagon, is holding a press conference about military operations in Iraq and Syria.
He begins by hailing “significant progress in northern Syria”, noting that Turkish and Syrian rebel forces have taken six villages, including Dabiq, the town that plays a key role in Isis’s apocalyptic mythology. Their propaganda magazine is named after the town, Cook notes.
He thanks Turkish forces for their cooperation, in particular, and moves on to the campaign on Mosul.
The operation began at 6am Baghdad time, Cook says. “On the first day of what we assume will be a difficult campaign that will [take] some time,” he continues. He can say that Iraqi and Kurdish forces “have met their objectives so far and that they are ahead of schedule”.
“The enemy gets a vote here,” he warns, noting the very early stage of the campaign. “We will see whether Isil stands and fights.”
“We’re on day one here,” he says.
He explains a bit about US involvement in the campaign, saying there are about 5,000 American military personnel in Iraq, “many of those people are in enabler roles, they may be trainers”, and that there are “a number of people providing logistical support”. Earlier on Monday a general acknowledged that there are JTACs, the elite units that guide airstrikes from the ground.
Cook says any target on the ground would be screened by both American and Iraqi commanders. “We are not doing anything in this fight without the consent and approval of the Iraqi government.”
“We’re going to be deferring to the Iraqis because this is their fight,” Cook says. He says that in the last month the US-led coalition has launched more than 10,000 strikes, including more than 70 in and around Mosul.
He also notes that Mosul, like Dabiq, has a symbolic role to Isis: it is where the group’s leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, announced a “caliphate”, and the city had a diverse, multi-ethnic and multi-faith population of a million people before Isis took control.
Pentagon's Spokesman Peter Cook says Apache helicopters not used in #Mosul so far.
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IEDs slow Kurdish advance
AP reports that as columns of armored vehicles have moved toward Mosul, Kurdish forces have captured several small, mostly unpopulated villages to the east of the city.
But their progress was slowed by roadside bombs left behind by the militants, and IS unleashed a series of suicide car and truck bomb attacks, one of which struck a Kurdish tank. It was not immediately clear if there were any casualties from that incident or fighting elsewhere.
Long columns of armored vehicles followed by hundreds of pickup trucks advanced on a cluster of some half dozen villages on the Ninevah plain outside the city. The area, historically home to religious minorities brutally oppressed by IS, was almost completely empty of civilians, allowing air power to do much of the heavy lifting.
Lt Col Mohammad Darwish of the Kurdish forces known as peshmerga said the main roads and fields were littered with homemade bombs and that suicide car bomb attacks had slowed the troops’ progress.
A peshmerga major said some Kurdish fighters entered the villages in Humvees, “but they didn’t do anything, not even walk outside on the street.” He spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to brief the press.
The major said his men were still waiting for engineering teams to clear the villages. But just a few hundred meters from the front line a bomb disposal team sat idle hours after the operation began, explaining that they had not yet received orders to deploy.
An estimated 25,000 to 30,000 troops are involved in the offensive, including Iraqi military forces, Kurdish peshmerga and Sunni tribal forces. Reuters reported that helicopters and explosions could be heard near the city’s eastern front, and that an estimated 4,000 to 8,000 Isis militants are thought to be in Mosul.
“Daesh are using motorcycles for their patrols to evade air detection, with pillion passengers using binoculars to check out buildings and streets,” Abu Maher, using an Arabic acronym for Islamic State, told the news agency.
Reuters and AP both report that aid groups fear a crisis for civilians trapped or trying to flee the city. “Civilians who attempt to escape the city will have little choice but to take their lives into their own hands and pray that they are able to avoid snipers, landmines, booby traps and other explosives,” Aleksandar Milutinovic, the International Rescue Committee’s Iraq director, told AP.
“We set up a fortified room in the house by putting sandbags to block the only window and we removed everything dangerous or flammable,” Abu Maher said. “I spent almost all my money on buying food, baby milk and anything we might need.”
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Khalaf al-Hadidi, a member of Mosul’s city council who now lives in Erbil, the Kurdish stronghold, has told my colleague Mona Mahmood that the council is doing what it can to help the military operation with a plan to help displaced civilians – and to convince those civilians that they should help the Iraqi army by reporting human rights violations.
“We have also set up an emergency plan to deal with any abnormal circumstances up till the Iraqi forces get into Mosul,” he said.
Mosul’s city council has 15 members, he said, “and we are all working now with the military forces to provide them with logistical information of sensitive places in Mosul, and how to avoid targeting heavily populated areas during the battle against Isis.
I live in Erbil but I went today to al-Qader district near the town of al-Hamdaniya, the backward lines of the military operations. The visit was meant to find out whether there are any civilians fleeing the city. We have prepared a camp of more than 6,000 tents for locals who might get stuck during the battle. We also asked the military forces to provide us with some information to guide the besieged civilians on how to flee the city through safe routes.
However, I learnt that the military forces are urging the civilians to stay at their homes because they have put a sealed security plan, which entails careful targeting of Isis sites to try to avoid harming civilians and their possessions.
I left Mosul the day Isis took over the city two years ago, because I’m a member of the city council and they were chasing all Mosul politicians and key men to kill them for collaborating with the Iraqi government. I was a headmaster of a secondary school in Mosul before I joined the council.
Hadidi added that the council adopted a decision, which it passed to the Iraqi government, to reject the participation of Shia militias in the mission to retake Mosul. “We do not want to go back to the time of sectarian war and killing civilians. The involvement of Shia militias would have hurt morale.
“Today the prime minister confirmed that no Shia militia would take part in the fight. I haven’t seen any of them today, only peshmerga and the Iraqi army.”
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Elite special forces units from the US are playing a major role in the battle for Mosul, my national security editor Spencer Ackerman reports, noting that the fight is the first in a long string of “advisory” operations that US officials have openly acknowledged.
In a statement on Monday morning, the American general in charge of the coalition’s war in Iraq and Syria, Lt Gen Stephen Townsend, openly acknowledged the presence of “forward air controllers” among the US “advisory” contributions to the battle.
Those controllers, known as joint terminal air controllers, or JTACs, and drawn from US special operations forces, are the troops on the ground who spot for airstrikes, in an attempt to ensure greater accuracy of aerial bombardment. Their presence indicates that US troops, while not formally in a combat role, are on the frontlines and willing to use substantial airpower on Iraq’s second city.
The US command’s acknowledgment of their presence is a departure from previous battles in two years’ worth of war against Isis. Members of Congress have criticised the Pentagon for relaying airstrike spotting through coordination cells far from the fight, including in an operations centre in the Iraqi Kurdish capital of Erbil.
Having US troops spotting airstrikes is both the latest departure from Barack Obama’s pledge against having “boots on the ground” and an effort at ensuring greater specificity and lethality against Isis targets in the city.
“JTACs are the difference between precision bombing and area bombing,” said Christopher Harmer, a former US Navy pilot who said their presence indicated the US is willing to “incur casualties” in Mosul.
“With JTACs, you can select individual targets in real time and accurately strike them. Without JTACs, you can only bomb a general area and hope for success.”
The UK and France are also believed to have their own special forces involved in retaking Mosul. Earlier this month, two French special operations forces training peshmerga were seriously injured by abooby-trapped Isis drone that exploded after crashing near them in Dohuk, 46 miles (75km) north of the city.
While it is unclear what specifically the UK and French contributions to the battle are, it is believed British special forces will also aid in calling in airstrikes. France has sent approximately 150 troops to operate four 155mm Caeser howitzers as part of its Task Force Wagram. The French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, carrying 24 Rafale combat planes, is also in the eastern Mediterranean to support the war.
As the long-anticipated battle began on Monday, US warplanes launched substantial bombing runs on positions around Mosul. The US reported attacking three units of Isis fighters, two staging areas for their operations, 12 Isis rally points and even a bridge. Six tunnel entrances, an anti-artillery system, four generators powering communications-signal towers and four mortar systems were destroyed, according to the US military.
In a sign that the coalition is bracing for a gruelling campaign, Townsend said the fight was likely to last “weeks, possibly longer”.
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Fawaz Ali, an engineer from Mosul, who now lives in Turkey, told my colleague Mona Mahmood that his family remaining in the Iraqi city are afraid they may face repercussions from the Shia militias fighting to oust Islamic State. He said:
My family contacted me yesterday to say: ‘Look, we can’t call you any more, all mobiles are monitored by Isis. We just want to let you know that we are OK and Mosul centre is quiet. All the people are staying indoors in fear of bombardment by US jets against the city.’
I cannot go to work here in Istanbul because I’m so worried about my family and uncles. I feel like I’m paralysed and tied to the internet waiting for any glimpse of good news, but I can’t find any relatives or friends from Mosul to talk to, they have all switched off their mobiles because if you want to make a phone call, you have to go upstairs to get a network and you might be spotted by Isis militants.
People are scared of the aftermath of Mosul liberation and that the result would be Shia militia and Iraqi army taking the city, who would start to detain people although they are innocent, accusing them of being Isis supporters … The locals believe that peshmerga is better than Shia militia because they are not sectarian.
I won’t go back to Mosul if it is taken by Shia militia or the Iraqi army to be detained just because I’m Sunni. It is going to be a real disaster to have Shia militia who want to get revenge for Imam Hussein. Neither Isis nor Shia militia are good, they are both pure vice.
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Ranj Alaaldin, a Middle East scholar at the London School of Economics, writes on Comment is Free that victory over Islamic State will not solve Iraq’s problems:
Arab Sunni tribal groups are expected to do most of the fighting in the city itself but these groups have their own rivalries and do not necessarily have support and legitimacy among locals in Mosul, particularly since they receive support and training from rival political factions in Iraq and external powers that are widely disdained by locals …
The conditions that gave rise to Isis in the first place are still there and have been exacerbated, rather than alleviated, over the past two years since the jihadis took control of Mosul in 2014. While President Obama clearly does not want Isis (or rather the “caliphate”) to outlive his presidency, there are no guarantees the US and the international community will continue their support and help to remedy these shortcomings, as well as mediate between rival factions.
In the short and medium term, Isis will continue to commit terrorist atrocities such as the July bombing in Karrada that killed close to 300 people, and it still has its apparatus in Syria as a launching pad for attacks and atrocities elsewhere. This latest offensive on Mosul won’t change that – and without substantial investment for rebuilding it’s unlikely to help Iraq become a more peaceful, stable country.
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Unlike with previous Iraqi-led attacks on Islamic State strongholds, the US has said its troops are on the frontlines.
In a statement, Lt Gen Stephen Townsend, the commander of the coalition taskforce, included forward air controllers among the US personnel “supporting” the invasion of Mosul.
The US is therefore acknowledging it has put people on the frontlines in order to ensure greater precision for aerial bombing in a densely populated urban area.
The absence of spotters in Iraq and Syria, known by their military acronym JTACs, has been a frequent object of criticism for the Pentagon in Congress.
Townsend also prepared the public for “weeks, possibly longer” of battle.
He said:
Earlier today, Iraqi security forces launched their counterattack to liberate Mosul from Isil, also known as Daesh. This operation to regain control of Iraq’s second-largest city will likely continue for weeks, possibly longer. Iraq is supported by a wide range of coalition capabilities, including air support, artillery, intelligence, advisers and forward air controllers. But to be clear, the thousands of ground combat forces who will liberate Mosul are all Iraqis.
This liberation battle comes after more than two years of Daesh oppression in Mosul, during which they committed horrible atrocities, brutalised the people and asserted the city was one of their twin capitals. Isil’s cruelty and reach has shown that they are not just a threat in Iraq and Syria, but to the region and the entire world.
Over the course of these past two years, a coalition of more than 60 nations has united to defeat Isil. We have conducted tens of thousands of precision strikes to support Iraqi operations, trained and equipped more than 54,000 Iraqi forces, and supported our Iraqi partners as they fought to liberate their country.
As we provide our support, we will continue to use precision to accurately attack the enemy and to minimise any impact on innocent civilians. We can’t predict how long it will take for the Iraqi security forces to defeat Daesh in Mosul; but we know they will succeed – just as they did in Bayji, in Ramadi, in Falluja and, more recently, in Qayyarah and Sharqat.
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The success of the Mosul attack will constitute the almost complete reversal of Islamic State’s blitzkrieg advance in 2014, which brought under its control the lives of millions of people in the heart of the Middle East.
My colleague, Jason Burke, has been addressing the question of what this could mean in the longer term. He writes:
Mosul is of profound significance to both Kurds and Arabs, and to Sunni and Shia Muslims. Its recapture may widen faultlines between these communities, rather than heal them. Iraq’s Sunni minority have long felt alienated by the country’s Shia-led government in Baghdad, and it is Shia-dominated government forces who will reoccupy the city.
The defeat of Isis as a territorial power would dramatically rearrange the bloodstained three-dimensional chessboard of the Syrian civil war too. It could potentially benefit the regime of Bashar al-Assad, or other rival Islamic militant groups there, such as the major al-Qaida-linked faction now known as Jabhat Fatah al-Sham. This is a conflict where unforeseen consequences have long been the rule, not the exception.
The most intense discussions have been about the threat an Isis without territory may pose to the west. Many analysts and officials predict a spike in attacks, particularly in Europe. Some of these, analysts predict, will be carried out by trained and commissioned extremists which the group will unleash as it is forced out of its final redoubts. Others will be by individuals who will return to European nations from the Syrian or Iraqi battlefields seeking revenge and, possibly, martyrdom. Then there may be some “freelance” attacks, by angry sympathisers.
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Shia militias will turn Mosul into a bloodbath, Saudis warn
The Saudi foreign minister, Adel al-Jubeir, says Mosul will turn into a bloodbath and mass killings if the Iraqi government allows Shia militias to enter the city, as it has in other Iraqi cities liberated from Islamic State control. In a rare press conference in London he said:
We oppose any kind of involvement by the Shia militias. When they went into Falluja they committed mass atrocities, including a mass grave of 400 people. We tracked what happened on the internet and the amount of traffic for extremist websites and recruitment shot up by 150%.
If they go into Mosul which is many times larger than Falluja I would expect the negative reaction will be tremendous and if there are mass killings, it could end up being a bonanza for violent extremists, and recruitment for Daesh. It could add fuel to the sectarian fires raging in the region and so we have urged the Iraqi government not to use the Shia militias. That is the greatest danger that we see. We actually told them to disband them, and yet they have not. They are being managed by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. They are brutal.
He added that although there had been reassurances from the Iraqi government about the deployment of Shia militias, he was not sure the Iraqi government was fully in control. He said the Iranians played a role, the Revolutionary Guards played a role, and sometimes the militias acted independently of the government. He said he supported the attack on Mosul, adding: “We support any objective which is to destroy al-Qaida absolutely.”
But he did not propose the Saudis should play a role in the reconstruction of Mosul if it is liberated. He said:
I think the Iraqis have the second largest oil reserves in the world.
There are a number of tribes that extend from Saudi Arabia into Iraq so a lot of Iraqis have kinsmen in Saudi Arabia so our history is intertwined, and so is our future, but we have to get off this sectarian track.
The Iraqis need to find a way to have a more incredible government – they found a way in 2014 when they removed Maliki.
Jubier said that if the Daesh were forced out of Mosul, they were likely to go on to Syria, adding its president, Bashar al-Assad, would allow them to grow.
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Mona Mahmood
My colleague, Mona Mahmood, has conducted a second interview with Iraqis affected by the battle for Mosul. Abu Firas, a father of five, is a secondary schoolteacher from Telafer in Mosul. He recently fled Mosul and now lives in Sulaimaniya.
I’m in Sulaimaniya, counting the days to get back home. It has been a real hardship since I left Mosul seven months ago and fled to Turkey with my family. I stayed in Turkey for 15 days and then returned to Sulaimaniya as I could not cope with expensive life in Turkey. It was so hard to stay in Telafer after Isis militants took over of Mosul. I’m a government employee and did not get a salary for more than a year and a half – how can I feed my five kids?
If I had stayed in Mosul my family would have died, there was no work, no freedom, no life. The strict rules of Isis were a nightmare that I challenge any human being to be able to accept them.
I still have three brothers in Mosul with their families, they said that the battle is still at the suburbs of Mosul. They could not flee because they could not afford the cost of traveling to Turkey. Besides it is very risky, if Isis militants get hold of any one fleeing, they will execute him immediately. I paid more than $2,000 to flee with the help of a smuggler who took us to Syria and then to Turkey.
When Isis first came, they said they came just to change the situation for the interest of Mosul civilians who suffered a great deal of injustice from the Iraqi army. Something that made all the people happy to have them and look at them as saviours from the devil, but it turned that was not right and they began to impose their hardline Islamic doctrine on people. They made our life a complete hell.
When I had to flee I could not take anything with me and thought it was better to let my neighbour stay in my house. At least he would guard it and Isis would not confiscate it. I will get back to Mosul as soon as it is liberated. Only God knows how long the battle will last because Isis won’t give up easily. They have been reinforcing their forces to be ready for the attack. They will not hand over Mosul easily, which is one of their main fortresses in Iraq.
I will get back to my home, even if Shia militia take the city as they did in other Sunni-liberated areas in Iraq. I do not care any more, I prefer to die in my home and not to be a refugee. I will never repeat this mistake again.
I live with my sister in Sulaimaniyia now and we are really struggling to provide the daily basics for the kids. I have run out of all my savings and am borrowing money from sister all the time.
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