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| 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 Iraqi campaign to recapture Mosul on Thursday morning as thousands of pesh merga fighters began to attack from the north. | NAWARAN, Iraq — Kurdish forces opened a new front in the Iraqi campaign to recapture Mosul on Thursday morning as thousands of pesh merga fighters began to attack from the north. |
| The goal was to retake 27 villages from the Islamic State. The operation was larger than the one the pesh merga began Monday morning, when an attack was carried out from east of Mosul, the second-largest city in Iraq. | |
| Speaking by video link to a group of diplomats who were meeting in Paris to discuss the future of Mosul, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi of Iraq said that forces were pushing into Mosul “more quickly than we thought and more quickly than we had programmed,” Reuters reported. | |
| The assault on Thursday was preceded by artillery and airstrikes Wednesday night. The sound of an American Special Operations AC-130 gunship could be heard overhead. | The assault on Thursday was preceded by artillery and airstrikes Wednesday night. The sound of an American Special Operations AC-130 gunship could be heard overhead. |
| On a clear but chilly morning, Kurdish fighters then moved onto a ridge overlooking the villages. | On a clear but chilly morning, Kurdish fighters then moved onto a ridge overlooking the villages. |
| 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 attacked 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 attacked on a broad front. |
| As the fighting began, a drone sent by the Islamic State to spy on the Kurds’ positions was shot down by Kalashnikov rifles and other small arms. | As the fighting began, a drone sent by the Islamic State to spy on the Kurds’ positions was shot down by Kalashnikov rifles and other small arms. |
| A column of Kurdish tanks, armored vehicles, bulldozers and ambulances moved forward over a hillside. | A column of Kurdish tanks, armored vehicles, bulldozers and ambulances moved forward over a hillside. |
| A pesh merga fighter who had grown up in one of the villages said he had been in touch with his relatives there. Islamic State militants, he said, had sought to intimidate the residents by taking 16 men to Mosul to hold them as hostages. | A pesh merga fighter who had grown up in one of the villages said he had been in touch with his relatives there. Islamic State militants, he said, had sought to intimidate the residents by taking 16 men to Mosul to hold them as hostages. |
| At first, the pesh merga appeared to be meeting significant resistance. Roadside bombs, called TNTs by Kurdish fighters, delayed the column, at first. The whoosh of incoming Islamic State mortars could be heard. A heavy firefight broke out in one village. | At first, the pesh merga appeared to be meeting significant resistance. Roadside bombs, called TNTs by Kurdish fighters, delayed the column, at first. The whoosh of incoming Islamic State mortars could be heard. A heavy firefight broke out in one village. |
| 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. |