Mosul update

[tigergorzow]

ISIS propaganda leader killed in US-led airstrike in Iraq

By

Paul Antonopoulos

-

01/04/2017

2

BEIRUT, LEBANON (5:20 P.M.) – The ISIS propaganda chief, Ibrahim al-Ansari, was reportedly killed in a US-led airstrike in northern Iraq on March 25, the coalition announced in a statement on Friday.

“Ibrahim Al-Ansari, an ISIS propaganda official, and four of his associates were killed by a coalition strike on March 25 in Al-Qa’im, Iraq,” it said.

“Al-Ansari was a leader in producing and disseminating propaganda to direct, encourage and instruct terror attacks, as well as to recruit foreign terrorist fighters,” said Colonel Joseph Scrocca, the coalition’s Public Affairs Director.

“He promoted terror attacks against U.S. and Turkish citizens, and the brainwashing of young children to perpetuate ISIS’s brutal message. His propaganda encouraged ISIS followers to conduct knife attacks, vehicle attacks and arson attacks against American and other Western citizens,” Scrocca continued.

“This strike will disrupt ISIS’s ability to create propaganda — propaganda to insight terror into the region as well as in our homeland, and has struck communications between other ISIS members,” he concluded.

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/isis-propaganda-leader-killed-us-led-airstrike-iraq/

[tigergorzow]

ISIS begins to run out of ammunition, weapons in the battle of Mosul

By

Paul Antonopoulos

-

01/04/2017

4

BEIRUT, LEBANON (2:04 A.M.) – With the precarious situation for ISIS in Mosul, strong suggestions have been made that the terrorist group is now beginning to run low on ammunition and weapons.

Photos released by the ISIS-affiliated Amaq Agency shows ISIS using homemade rockets to repel the onslaught of the Iraqi Army in the northern city and former Islamic State stronghold of Mosul.

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The latest reports from sources in Iraq suggest that there are only around 1,000 ISIS fighters left in the city, bogged down and concentrated in the northwestern sector. This sector accounts for approximately 15% of the city, meaning that Iraqi forces control the remainder.

At the beginning of the operation to liberate Mosul in October, ISIS had approximately 7,000 fighters, in which the majority have been decimated.

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/isis-begin-to-run-out-of-ammunition-weapons-in-the-battle-of-mosul/

[tigergorzow]

In pictures: ISIS anti-aircraft units fire at US drones hovering over western Anbar

By

Chris Tomson

-

02/04/2017

3

DAMASCUS, SYRIA (0:40 A.M.) – Islamic State published photos on Saturday showing its militants firing at US reconnaissance drones near the Haditha Dam Lake in rural Anbar.

Amaq Agency reportedly took pictures in the towns of Rawa and Anah along the Euphrates River showing jihadist fighters using two different types of anti-aircraft weaponry:

Chris Tomson | Al-Masdar News

Chris Tomson | Al-Masdar News

Chris Tomson | Al-Masdar News

Chris Tomson | Al-Masdar News

Chris Tomson | Al-Masdar News

Chris Tomson | Al-Masdar News

Chris Tomson | Al-Masdar News

Islamic State insurgents often conduct raids in western Anbar, especially near the town of Rutbah which Iraqi government forces retook last year.

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/pictures-isis-anti-aircraft-units-fire-us-drones-hoovering-western-anbar/

[tigergorzow]

Video: IS straps suicide belt to mentally retarded man to target security forces in Mosul

 

by Loaa Adel Apr 1, 2017, 2:45 pm

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Mosul (IraqiNews.com) Federal Police Command, on Saturday, announced that members of the Islamic State group strapped a suicide belt to a mentally retarded man in the city of Mosul, while security forces refused to kill him.

Federal Police Chief, Raed Shaker Jawdat, in a press statement said that the Islamic State terrorist group strapped a suicide belt to a mentally retarded man, then pushed him toward the troops stationed in the old city.

Snipers of the Federal Police refused to kill him, and fired some shots to frighten and force him to retreat, Jawdat further added.

Noteworthy, security forces from Iraqi Federal Police, Counter-Terrorism Service and al-Hashd al-Shaabi are still going through fierce battles to retake the areas held by the Islamic State in Nineveh Province.

http://www.iraqinews.com/iraq-war/video-straps-suicide-belt-mentally-retarded-man-target-security-forces-mosul/

[tigergorzow]

IS executes senior leader in Tal Afar for breaching allegiance

 

by Loaa Adel Apr 1, 2017, 3:15 pm

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IS publicly executing Iraqi men. File photo

 

Mosul (IraqiNews.com) A local source in Nineveh Province informed, on Saturday, that the Islamic State group executed the official of an elite brigade, along with two of his aides, for breaching the pledge of allegiance to the group.

Alsumaria News quoted the source saying, “The self-proclaimed Islamic State group executed, by firing squad, its official of al-Farouq brigade, along with two of his aides, in central Tal Afar, west of Mosul, for breaching the pledge of allegiance to the terrorist group.”

The group carried out the execution, after arresting the official of al-Farouq brigade, along with 20 other leaders, while attending a meeting in Tal Afar, three days ago, the source added on condition of anonymity.

Meanwhile, security forces continue the battles to retake the remaining areas of western Mosul, backed by al-Hashd al-Shaabi units.

http://www.iraqinews.com/iraq-war/executes-senior-leader-tal-afar-breaching-allegiance/

[tigergorzow]

3 IS members killed by IED blast east of Salahuddin

 

by Loaa Adel Apr 1, 2017, 5:58 pm

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An IED explosion. File photo.

 

Salahuddin (IraqiNews.com) A local source in the Province declared that three members of the Islamic State group were killed in an improvised explosive device blast, east of Salahuddin.

The source told Alsumaria News on Saturday that three members of the Islamic State group were killed by an improvised explosive device blast, which targeted a passing patrol, in al-Mutaibija area, east of Salahuddin.

The Islamic State group planted dozens of IEDs in Mutaibija to target security forces and al-Hashd al-Shaabi units, but lately these IEDs started to kill its members who didn’t know where these explosives were placed, the source added on condition of anonymity.

http://www.iraqinews.com/iraq-war/3-members-killed-ied-blast-east-salahuddin/

[new york kevin]

On 3/14/2017 at 11:04 AM, tigergorzow said:

Over 1,200 Detainees in Degrading Conditions in Makeshift Prisons Near Mosul: HRW

 

Shoguna B. Sobir

14/03/2017 - 13:47

Iraq

 

 

 

 

MOSUL — At least 1,269 people who are suspected of having connections with the Islamic State (IS), including children as young as 13, are being held captive without a charge, in filthy, overcrowded conditions, without access to a lawyer and medical care, according to the Human Rights Watch (HRW) report released on Monday.

“The deplorable prison conditions in Qayyarah and Hammam al-Alil show that the Iraqi government is not providing the most basic detention standards or due process,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at the HRW.

“Iraqis should understand better than most the dangerous consequences of abusing detainees in cruel prison conditions,” she added.

At least four prisoners have died, and two other prisoners had their legs amputated, though their condition was treatable, - all due to lack of proper medical care.

“The facilities are all extremely overcrowded, so that no detainee can lie down to sleep. Because of the overcrowding and lack of proper ventilation, the makeshift prison cells are overheated, with an incredible stench. [Detainees] have no access to showers and limited access to bathrooms. The facilities have no medical support, contributing to the deaths and amputations,” according to the HRW report, based on their visit to these detention centers and interviews with the prison staff.

According to Iraq’s Criminal Procedural Code, detainees must be brought before an investigative judge within 24 hours. However, there are cases where detainees were held without a charge for six months. Many have been in these detention centers since November of 2016.

Those who have been cleared for release, which number 300, are still held captive.

“Security forces’ failure to comply with a judicial order for release is a crime under Iraqi law. If the security forces are failing to comply with judicial orders in a systematic manner as part of a state policy to ignore such orders and detain people arbitrarily, this could represent a crime against humanity,” according to the HRW.

The detention centers in question are in the town of Qayyarah, 60 kilometers south of Mosul, and at a police station in Hammam al-Alil, 30 kilometers south of Mosul.

http://www.basnews.com/index.php/en/news/iraq/336394

Well they are fighting a all out war folks. Until all is secured inside Iraq, delays in these and other areas of civility will occur. Since most of the money is being spent to battle ISIS at this time.

 

[bkeiller]

Daesh deployment of women snipers over the buildings west of Mosul

5 minutes ago Iraqi News

National Center Brief NNC- revealed a security source in Nineveh province, Sunday, for the publication of the "Daesh" a number of Guenasath of the feminist element above the high-rise buildings to impede the progress of the security forces in the right side of the city of Mosul, as he emphasized that the organization relied on this technique greater rhythm a number of casualties among civilians who are being held as human shields. The source said in a press statement, said that "the organization of Daesh terrorist published a number of Guenasath They are women from the battalion Alkhosina over a number of buildings in neighborhoods experiencing battles on the right coast, west of Mosul," noting that "the end of the deployment of snipers is to delay the progress of security forces on the one hand and to block the resolution of the battles. " The source, who requested anonymity, that "the losses suffered by the terrorist organization in the liberation of Ayman Mosul battles led him to rely on women after the death of a large number of Guenasih, including the leader of the Chechen battalion called Abu Hafs al-Chechen." The source added, "One of the methods of organizing Daesh is the detention of dozens of civilians in large homes and deploy Guenasath over them," pointing out that "when targeting the site where spreads elements Daesh the victims are civilians, and this is what did the organization in more than one location." The source noted, "the organization put car bombs in the streets and when targeted to explode and cause serious damage to civilians who are being held in those houses the terrorist organization that transports them to it."

https://mangish.net/داعش-نشر-نساء-قناصات-فوق-مباني-غرب-المو/

[DWS112]

National Security Council discusses approaching the end of the battle to liberate Mosul  April 2, 2017

The Ministerial Council for National Security was held on Sunday, a meeting chaired by the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, the Council discussed the approach of resolving the battle "are coming, Nineveh" and the situation of displaced people from the city of Mosul.

Information Office of the Prime Minister said in a statement seen by "the Iraqi position", "The commander of the armed forces, Haider Abadi, the prime minister chaired, on Sunday, a meeting of the Ministerial Council for National Security."

He added the office, that "the Council discussed the progress of the battle coming, Nineveh, to liberate the right side in Mosul, where they were reporting on the progress of our heroine and approaching the resolution of the battle and achieve final victory, as they discussed the situation of displaced and humanitarian side in Mosul, and to take action to them."

He added that, "was submitted semi-annual report to assess stability in the provinces and address some of the weaknesses in accordance with the actions taken," adding that "the Council discussed the previous resolutions and directives in addition to a number of other topics on the agenda."

Joint Iraqi forces are engaged in large-scale military operations to regain control of the right coast in the city of Mosul from the control Daesh terrorist gangs, after the release left coast late last January.

 

 

 

[DWS112]

5 minutes ago, DWS112 said:

"are coming, Nineveh"

In Biblical the meaning of the name Nineveh is: Handsome, agreeable.

[10 YEARS LATER]

What's next ? Abadi calls on the completely corrupt UN to remove Iraq from Ch. 7. The announcement of a fully Liberated Mosul might be days away ( 93% liberated according to reports ).

I will stand by my observation a portion of the recent IMF loan was to pay off the last installment to Kuwait ( Should have saved that article ).

The waters still remain muddied as to 140/HCL complete/ back room deals/it's a Twister of info or mis-info - It's the Lib of Mosul announcement I wait for to see what forthcoming info shows itself. More excuses, shoe throwing, walkouts or finger pointing ? Or they get down to cases in April to go global in " early 2017 " or are we still going to be here in JUNE 2017 still asking WHEN ??????????? 

This investment was entered into in good faith by countless thousands of people around the world. We all understood the complexity of this situation ( I did ). There's been quite allot of Poop Hurled at the Fan since '04. We'll never know all the reasons why this has taken so long. Lots of very insightful observations though. Pretty savvy bunch here at DV.

It does appear, however, to some degree the corruption/delay/foot dragging lies within the UN, World Bank, IMF, US Treasury/previous administration (s) and collusion with those within the GOI as well. $$$$ is being made ( by some ) all the while Iraq remains where it does, and $$$$ will be made ( by many others ) after the RV.

I am under no illusion when it comes to Global Corruption by the wealthy giants in the $$$$$ game; and that also includes the fantastically powerful and wealthy organized religions of the world 

[yota691]

This is the last battle of Mosul developments Ayman

Ali Rasouli April 2, 2017 Add comment 148 Visit

 

 

 

Baghdad Journal News

Announced joint operations, Sunday, continued progress in the mills and the Yarmouk district in the right coast of the city of Mosul.

Said Lt. Gen. Abdul-Wahab al-Saadi, told the "Journal News", "joint forces advancing from the axis direction of the neighborhood mills and Yarmouk federal police and anti-terrorism band device ninth to impose control, accompanied by clashes in those axes."

It is noteworthy that the joint security forces arrived at the final stage of the liberalization process of Mosul, gunmen Daesh and are on a date close to edit the old city on the right coast.

The liberation of Mosul, a process supported by the international coalition led by the United States forces, began in October 17 last year, and managed troops to regain control of the eastern part of the city, before the start offensive operations on the western part of the remaining militants, however, regulation.

The Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, announced on 19 February last, start editing the western part of Mosul process.

[pontiyak]

10 Years Later:  There is one constant in that the 1% who control the world do not want the rest or 99% to

become rich and powerful.

All I really want is a little slice, and I promise not to bother the 1%.

 

The best things in life RV

 

yak

[ChuckFinley]

And when this RV I am going to be messing with the 1 %.  

[nannab]

1 hour ago, ChuckFinley said:

And when this RV I am going to be messing with the 1 %.  

I know a few of us will be glad help you.  

[new york kevin]

2 hours ago, pontiyak said:

10 Years Later:  There is one constant in that the 1% who control the world do not want the rest or 99% to

become rich and powerful.

All I really want is a little slice, and I promise not to bother the 1%.

 

The best things in life RV

 

yak

Inciteful this one is. Very good Patiwan Learner. 

[tigergorzow]

ISIS kills 20 including women, kids southern Nineveh: Security sources

April 03 2017 11:42 AM

Police found 20 bodies

 

A medical source in Nineveh Governorate confirmed on Monday that 20 bodies belonging to women and children executed by ISIS were found south of the province.

The source said in a press statement that "The Qayara Hospital south of Mosul, received 20 bodies of women and children, executed by the terrorist group while trying to escape from the right bank of Mosul" .

The bodies were found by a security force, he said.

The source added that "some of the bodies are torn apart.

http://www.thebaghdadpost.com/en/story/8914/ISIS-kills-20-including-women-kids-southern-Nineveh-Security-sources

[tigergorzow]

ISIS shoots dead preacher in Mosul

April 03 2017 11:00 AM

ISIS

 

ISIS terrorists have shot dead a preacher in the right bank of Mosul, The Baghdad Post cited a security source on Monday.

In a press statement, the source said, "The gangs of ISIS killed a preacher of a mosque in the right bank of Mosul after he refused to issue a death sentence against young men who refused to involve in terror attacks".

ISIS still holds some districts in Mosul's right bank, the terror group's last stronghold. 

The Iraqi army, supported by the international coalition airstrikes, has been launching an offensive against the militant group since February 2017. 

http://www.thebaghdadpost.com/en/story/8913/ISIS-shoots-dead-preacher-in-Mosul

[tigergorzow]

Civilians killed; mass grave found in Mosul

April 03 2017 12:10 PM

Mosul victims

 

Three civilians, including a woman, were killed in an airstrike by the Iraqi army and the international coalition in Old Mosul, security sources told The Baghdad Post on Monday.

The source said in a statement that "the aircraft of the army and the international coalition targeted districts in central Mosul leaving three people killed". 

The bombing killed three civilians, including a woman and injuring several others with variable injuries.

The source added that a mass grave including 59 bodies was found in Mashahda district in central Mosul. The victims were killed airstrikes in March, medical sources said. 

http://www.thebaghdadpost.com/en/story/8916/Civilians-killed-mass-grave-found-in-Mosul

[tigergorzow]

4 IMIS killed in clashes with ISIS in western Mosul

April 03 2017 01:36 PM

Braeking

 

 

Four IMIS terrorists were killed in clashes with ISIS terrorist group in Mahalabia neighborhood in western Mosul city, a source that requested anonymity said on Monday.
 

More details will be reported soon.

Iraqi Forces launched a major offensive on 19^th of February to retake the western part of Mosul after declaring total control of the eastern part of the city on 24^th of January as part of the military operations to liberate the city that started on 17^th of October 2016.

http://www.thebaghdadpost.com/en/story/8921/4-IMIS-killed-in-clashes-with-ISIS-in-western-Mosul

Edited April 3, 2017 by tigergorzow

[tigergorzow]

Abadi assigns security file of Mosul left bank to Nejm al-Jabouri

April 03 2017 02:44 PM

Braeking

 

 

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi assigned the security file of Mosul's left bank to the Chief of Mosul operations Major General Nejm al-Jabouri, sources told The Baghdad Post on Monday.
 

The file of ruling the left bank of Mosul city is causing a dispute between political and military leaders in Iraq in which it was assigned to a number of military commanders in the past period.
 

Iraqi Forces launched a major offensive on 19^th of February to retake the western part of Mosul after declaring total control of the eastern part of the city on 24^th of January as part of the military operations to liberate the city that started on 17^th of October 2016.

http://www.thebaghdadpost.com/en/story/8924/Abadi-assigns-security-file-of-Mosul-left-bank-to-Nejm-al-Jabouri

[tigergorzow]

ISIS kidnaps children in Mosul for suicide bombings

April 03 2017 03:26 PM

ISIS children

 

ISIS terrorists have been wandering streets in Mosul's right bank searching for children to use them in suicide bombings, sources told The Baghdad Post on Monday.

The sources confirmed that the terror group is currently holding 300 children in different districts in Mosul. 

The terror group says the children have duties to perform for the so-called  Islamic caliphate including suicide bombings. 

The ages of the captured children range from 11 to 17 years, including children with special learning difficulties. 

ISIS has repeatedly used civilians as human shields to stop strikes by the Iraqi army and the US-led international coalition in Mosul's right bank. 

The Iraqi Observatory for Human Rights announced that the exploitation of human beings as shields is a war crime under the 1929 and 1949 Geneva treaties as well as the 1998 Rome Convention. 

All international treaties call warring factions to preserve the lives of civilians under their jurisdictions.

Since February 19th the Iraqi army supported by the international coalition forces have launched an offensive to retake Mosul's right bank from the terror group. 

ISIS captured large swathes of Iraq and Syria in 2014. However, the terror group is currently besieged in some districts of Mosul, which is its last stronghold.

http://www.thebaghdadpost.com/en/story/8928/ISIS-kidnaps-children-in-Mosul-for-suicide-bombings

[tigergorzow]

What life is like for Isis's 400,000 'human shields' in west Mosul

April 03 2017 05:05 PM

Mosul

 

Isolated in their houses and short of food and water, people besieged in the Isis-held Old City of Mosul say it is like being held in an underground prison with little idea of the ebb and flow of the battle being fought around them, The Independent reported on Monday.

Iraqi government forces have advanced up to the periphery of the Old City, a mediaeval warren of narrow alleys and close-packed housing, but have not penetrated far into it. Whole units are prevented from advancing by two or three Isis snipers who shift their positions from house to house using holes cut through the walls so they are invisible to aerial reconnaissance. Isis has draped tarpaulins over alleys for the same reason.

Omar, a 39-year-old resident of the Old City, told The Independent that the last lights were going out in houses on his street because they had no fuel left for the neighbourhood generator, even if they could get to it.

“This is the last call I can make because nobody can go out to turn on the generator and there is no petrol, so there no way of charging my mobile after this call,” Omar shouted over a feeble phone link to east Mosul on the other side of the Tigris River, in an appeal for help.




 He said that nobody had any idea what was happening in their neighbourhood because of the proximity of the fighting. “I am with my family in my neighbour’s house, which is fairly big and contains about 35 people,” says Omar. “Children are crying from hunger and we have run out of the flour. We have only wheat and bran that we put some in water to become soft and give it to the children.”

Omar describes what life is like for many of the estimated 400,000 people the says still populate the Old City, who are not able to escape and cannot find out what is happening around them.

 “We hear explosions and shooting from outside. but nobody knows who is fighting,” he says. “An old woman joined us in the house yesterday and said that nobody is fighting [nearby] and the army has stopped advancing in the Old City.”

 This may well be true of the Federal Police who are stalled in the south, but the elite Golden Division has begun an attack from the west. The plan is to make multiple assaults on different fronts so the outnumbered Isis forces – figures for their numbers range from 1,000 to 4,000 – will be unable to withstand all of them at the same time.

“We have been stranded for four days,” says Omar. “We know from the people in Yarmuk district that the army is fighting there, but in our district, which is surrounded by the Federal Police, no advances have happened for more than a week.

The closest street to the house where we are sitting is Faruk Street. We can hear the sounds of the explosions and air strikes and yesterday we felt as if it were an earthquake.

 The explosion was huge and we could hear the screaming of people outside, but no one could go out to see what is happening.”
Omar says that Isis fighters last week forced people to evacuate their houses and instructed  three or four families gather in one house. They then take over the houses and make their holes in the walls to avoid using roofs or appearing in the alleys where they might be spotted. A further cause of fear is that residents do not know which houses Isis has booby trapped. 

“The Old City is like an underground prison,” concludes Omar. “Anyone who enters it will be lost, and the one who escapes from it is a new born baby.”

As well as their houses, people are faced with the likely loss of any vehicles they may own. Omar says that “my cousin Adnan lives in Hay 17 Tamouz district, but people there are suffering from Daesh (Isis) who take their cars by force or pay little money for them, even if the car is expensive.

He says that Daesh took many cars from their district and they are turned into car bombs and sent to destroy the tanks and vehicles of the Iraqi Army in Yarmouk and Al-Zinjili districts.” Adnan said that when Daesh took his neighbour’s car, they told him that "when we [Isis] conquer Baghdad we will pay you or, if the infidels win the battle, they will compensate you."


Nobody knows how long the battle for Mosul will go on for now, with many Iraqi soldiers saying that it will be at least a month and possibly much longer. Isis snipers are skilled and well hidden, often shifting their firing positions, so when Iraqi soldiers think they have located them, they use heavy rockets to try to kill them or call in air strikes or artillery fire.

With each passing week, more and more of west Mosul is being destroyed. 

http://www.thebaghdadpost.com/en/story/8934/What-life-is-like-for-Isis-s-400-000-human-shields-in-west-Mosul

[tigergorzow]

Mosul is falling. This is the end of the 'caliphate' in Iraq

April 03 2017 05:03 PM

.

 

Nicholas Stuart

 

 

I've shaved off my beard. It's no longer chic, in the Middle East, to possess anything much more than a light stubble, Nicholas Stuart wrote in an article published by "The Sunday Morning Herald". 

 

This seems such a ridiculous thing to mention in a column, yet everyone suddenly seems to have pulled out their razors. It may be nothing more than a change of fashion, nevertheless this personal transformation has come to reflect, in a dramatic and significant way, how close Iraq is to victory in the battle against Daesh.

The frontline this morning is just a couple of hundred metres from the Great Mosque in Mosul. This is the spot where, in July 2014 and dressed in the black turban and robes of rulers of old, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi proclaimed the "caliphate", anointing himself its ruler. He adopted the name of Muhammad's successor and appeared, at that moment, unstoppable. In December that year, his forces were lapping around the gates of the capital itself. The quiet introvert (who, in 2004, had been briefly held by the US forces as a "low-level prisoner") suddenly looked like a conqueror. Fairfax Media stopped referring to him as a terrorist and Tony Abbott rushed our troops and planes to the Gulf.

As we now know, that point marked the high-tide mark of expansion and the capital never fell. Slowly, tortuously, the offensive was blunted and turned back. Today, Baghdadi has chosen to flee the rubble of Mosul, leaving his few remaining, deluded fanatics to die – whether they want to or not – as martyrs.


They now know there can be no escape from the ruins around the mosque. The battle won't end with anything other than their death; however, the final moments are turning into a prolonged, tragic, twilight of murder and despair. Desperate to avoid being targeted from the air, the remaining insurgents are crowding civilians together as hostages in the hope of avoiding being bombed. People, families, can't escape, and groups as disparate as aid workers and the Pope are urging the Iraqi forces not to target them.




They don't, and won't – deliberately. But the very concept that discrimination is possible is a sham, because the insurgents are deliberately using these people as cover so they can continue to kill the Iraqi forces as they close in.

The Iraqis don't release casualty numbers. Nevertheless, the Golden Division, which was partly trained by Australians and has been at the tip of the spear responsible for turning back Baghdadi's insurgents, has suffered huge losses. A battalion normally represents about 800 soldiers; instead, today, it is fielding about 130, or a company. Police units have taken over the assault, but they understandably lack the drive of the elite forces. Above all, no one wants to die, particularly when the prospect of peace is so close.


Exposure can bring death in so many ways. Moving forward risks a blast of small-arms fire. Hide in a building and you risk being targeted by a bigger weapon, leaving a trail of smoke as it shoots towards walls. Touch something the wrong way and a mine will explode. Expose yourself for more than a second and a sniper will take a shot. Although there are suggestions the last fanatics are running short of ammunition, no one wants to take any risks. It could be your last.


That's why Iraqi soldiers at the front feel bitter and betrayed when they hear the comments of those condemning the use of allied bombs. Of course no one wants to kill civilians. Our RAAF aircraft have rules of engagement designed to avoid killing civilians; our pilots know they'll face no blow-back if they decide not to engage targets. But the Iraqi soldiers on the ground know they won't be safe tonight, eating in an air-conditioned mess hall in the Gulf. Instead, they'll be sprawling among the bricks and debris of the wrecked buildings, with the insurgents still waiting, dug in to their front. It's no wonder it takes ages to advance and the city is being fought over block by block, house by house, room by gruelling room.



This time is, however, different. Although Baghdadi's capital of Raqqa still holds out, it's been severely bombed by the Russians and isn't functioning as a city. Iraqi forces are poised to advance quickly west towards the Syrian border as soon as Mosul falls. Apart from those trapped in the ruins, most insurgents hoping for martyrdom have already had their wish granted. It's difficult to see how Daesh can to do anything other than dissolve, particularly as the United States is now moving against the organisation.


In the past, foreign countries have effectively supported the insurgency, either by doing nothing or by allowing money to flow. The war became a proxy for the Shi'ite-Sunni split that now divides Islam as bitterly as the Thirty Years' War divided Catholics and Protestants in the 1600s. Without outside support, this catastrophic war could never have continued for as long as it has. It is, however, finally drawing to a close. The story is changing, but first there will be more terrible agony to play out.

---------------------------

Nicholas Stuart is a Canberra writer. He is travelling to Mosul as a guest of the Iraq government. His article was published by The Sunday Morning Herald. 

http://www.thebaghdadpost.com/en/story/8933/Mosul-is-falling-This-is-the-end-of-the-caliphate-in-Iraq

[tigergorzow]

Abadi assigns security file of Mosul left bank to Nejm al-Jabouri

April 03 2017 02:44 PM

Braeking

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi assigned the security file of Mosul's left bank to the Chief of Mosul operations Major General Nejm al-Jabouri, sources told The Baghdad Post on Monday.
 

The file of ruling the left bank of Mosul city is causing a dispute between political and military leaders in Iraq in which it was assigned to a number of military commanders in the past period.
 

Iraqi Forces launched a major offensive on 19^th of February to retake the western part of Mosul after declaring total control of the eastern part of the city on 24^th of January as part of the military operations to liberate the city that started on 17^th of October 2016

http://www.thebaghdadpost.com/en/story/8924/Abadi-assigns-security-file-of-Mosul-left-bank-to-Nejm-al-Jabouri