This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/21/world/iraq-mosul-kurds-pesh-merga-isis-second-front.html
The article has changed 11 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Kurdish Forces Open Attack on Mosul From the North | Kurdish Forces Open Attack on Mosul From the North |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| NAWARAN, Iraq — Kurdish forces opened a new front in the Mosul campaign on Thursday morning as thousands of pesh merga fighters began to attack from the north. | |
| This goal was to retake 27 villages from the Islamic State. The operation was larger than the one the pesh merga carried out on Monday morning, in which an attack was carried out from east of Mosul, the second-largest city in Iraq. | This goal was to retake 27 villages from the Islamic State. The operation was larger than the one the pesh merga carried out on Monday morning, in which an attack was carried out from east of Mosul, the second-largest city in Iraq. |
| The assault was preceded by artillery and airstrikes Wednesday night. The sound of an American Special Operations AC-130 gunship could be heard overhead. | The assault was preceded by artillery and airstrikes Wednesday night. The sound of an American Special Operations AC-130 gunship could be heard overhead. |
| Then Kurdish fighters moved into on a ridgeway overlooking the villages on a clear but chilly morning. | Then Kurdish fighters moved into on a ridgeway overlooking the villages on a clear but chilly morning. |
| A sand berm, which has been used as a defensive barrier by the Kurds for two years, was cut open so that the pesh merga could advance. They were divided into three groups and were attacking on a broad front. | A sand berm, which has been used as a defensive barrier by the Kurds for two years, was cut open so that the pesh merga could advance. They were divided into three groups and were attacking on a broad front. |
| As the fighting began, a drone sent by the Islamic State to spy on the Kurds’ positions was shot down. | As the fighting began, a drone sent by the Islamic State to spy on the Kurds’ positions was shot down. |
| A column of Kurdish tanks, armored vehicles, bulldozers and ambulances moved forward over a rolling hillside. | A column of Kurdish tanks, armored vehicles, bulldozers and ambulances moved forward over a rolling hillside. |
| A pesh merga fighter who grew up in one of the villages that was to be liberated said he had been in touch with his relatives there. Islamic State militants had sought to intimidate the residents by taking 16 men to Mosul to hold them as hostages, he said. | A pesh merga fighter who grew up in one of the villages that was to be liberated said he had been in touch with his relatives there. Islamic State militants had sought to intimidate the residents by taking 16 men to Mosul to hold them as hostages, he said. |
| At first, the pesh merga appeared to be meeting significant resistance. Improvised explosive devices, what the Kurdish fighters call TNTs, initially delayed the Kurdish column. The whoosh of incoming Islamic State mortars could be heard. A heavy firefight broke out in one village. And bursts of concentrated Kurdish fire suggested that the pesh merga were trying to repel a car bomb attack. | At first, the pesh merga appeared to be meeting significant resistance. Improvised explosive devices, what the Kurdish fighters call TNTs, initially delayed the Kurdish column. The whoosh of incoming Islamic State mortars could be heard. A heavy firefight broke out in one village. And bursts of concentrated Kurdish fire suggested that the pesh merga were trying to repel a car bomb attack. |
| United States or allied warplanes, however, responded quickly to the threats, and their strikes produced large columns of white smoke in the distance. | United States or allied warplanes, however, responded quickly to the threats, and their strikes produced large columns of white smoke in the distance. |