Mosul update

[tigergorzow]

While thousands flee west Mosul, some Iraqi families vow to hang on

Author: Shelly KittlesonPosted April 4, 2017

MOSUL, Iraq — Southwestern sections of Mosul retaken weeks ago from the Islamic State are now filling with various Iraqi security forces heading to and from the front and civilians fleeing newly liberated areas of the city.

Summary⎙ Print Despite the dangerous situation in Mosul, many residents are choosing to stay in their homes as the fighting to retake the rest of the city continues.

Author Shelly KittlesonPosted April 4, 2017

Fighting continues less than a kilometer away, where streets are safe to use one day and riddled with sniper fire the next. Though the heavily damaged areas initially appear to be empty of civilians, some residents are still in their homes, where traditional outer walls protect them from the eyes of the street.

The federal police facilitated Al-Monitor’s mid-March visit to the home of one family.

A father of four in his early 50s living with his two youngest children, wife and mother-in-law told Al-Monitor that the family had not left the city throughout the over 2½ years under IS.

IS, and and al-Qaeda in Iraq before it, are known to have financed themselves to a large degree with kidnappings and extortion, and the family has suffered from both crimes.

Abu Mohammad, asking that his real name not be used, said that his only son was kidnapped in 2006 "by Daesh" when the boy was only nine years old. He did not distinguish between IS and al-Qaeda, like many Iraqis.

"He was the first child in the city to be kidnapped by them," claimed Abu Mohammad. He added that the boy, now 20 years old, had been held for about a week until the family paid $10,000 to secure his release.

A businessman from the Dulaim tribe, Abu Mohammad said his family "didn’t mix with" al-Qaeda and later IS, and that to avoid contact and conflict with them as much as possible, "I told my truck drivers to pay them whatever they asked."

He said that he had imported and exported various goods to and from countries including Turkey and Germany prior to IS taking control. When IS took over the city in June 2014, however, restrictions were put in place and cross-border trade eventually came to a halt.

His wife, who is originally from Baghdad, said, "In one day, they hanged 40 people from electrical towers" for such crimes as "having been part of the army and police. Some for having a cellphone."

"To set an example," Abu Mohammad added.

His wife’s brother is a staff brigadier general in the Iraqi armed forces — and thus one of IS’ prime enemies — and she is a Shiite. When suspicions grew about possible government informants among the population about a year ago, the couple were taken by IS for one day for questioning. "They interrogated her with religious questions," Abu Mohammad told Al-Monitor, but later let them both go since he is Sunni and they had been married a long time.

Proud of his Mosul origins, Abu Mohammad noted that he lives in the city of his great-grandfather and that most of the IS members he had come into contact with were "Iraqis, but from villages."

Asked whether anyone in his family had acted as an informant for the security forces, Abu Mohammad laughed and said, "We would have been beheaded."

He added that he had had his cellphone with him the entire time but had hid it in his home. IS, he said, had checked houses and marked the doors with whether they had been found clear of prohibited goods. "If they had found our television, though, we would have been whipped," he said.

The house seems mostly undamaged. A widescreen television now has pride of place in the living room alongside a few couches, and photos of relatives hang proudly on the walls. The photos show female relatives with their heads covered but not their faces, which IS would have been deemed sacrilegious. The group is known for blacking out the faces on school walls of both people and animals in other parts of Iraq and Syria.

In visits to the surrounding area, Al-Monitor encountered many people fleeing areas closer to the front line: frightened women burdened with large shopping bags and blankets and dressed in long black attire, some with the fronts of their black niqabs thrown back to expose their faces, eyes and heads kept down for the most part. Few male civilians were in evidence except the elderly and children.

One exception was a 24-year-old man with a "jihadist-style" beard. Riad said in near-perfect English that he had been left alone by IS since he was the only son that could take care of his elderly father, who was with him. The elder man, who was unable to walk, was being carried on a garish, flower-print blanket to a federal police vehicle.

Riad, who is from the Bab al-Jadid area, said that he had been a first-year archaeology student when IS came and that his main hope now is to return to his studies. He told Al-Monitor there would be no way to contact him again since he did not have a cellphone before he and his father left with the federal police.

When the operation to retake eastern Mosul started on Oct. 17 last year, many expected a catastrophic situation for displaced Iraqis, with some estimating that 1.5 million would flee the city. UNHCR reports that 302,430 of those internally displaced from Mosul and the surrounding area since the operation began were still displaced as of April 2.

The fighting for the more densely populated western half, which began on Feb. 19, has been fiercer and many civilians have been killed both trying to escape and in other incidents for which it is still unclear which side was responsible.

Once liberated, these areas lack services such as clean water and food and are often still susceptible to IS attacks. Some citizens, like Abu Mohammad and his family, are nonetheless choosing to remain in their homes if at all possible.

http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2017/04/mosul-islamic-state-iraq-displaced.html

[tigergorzow]

 

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Adam Dobb‏ @adam_dobb 13m13 minutes ago

 

2 of our most treasured #animals in #danger & are back in the #Mosul #Zoo and NOT yet safe-INSANE bureaucratic mess https://www.sicherspenden.at/vier-pfoten-org/em201703 …

pic.twitter.com/GRFDbj24SF

 

https://twitter.com/hashtag/mosul

[tigergorzow]

 🇮🇶Iraq Live Update‏ @IraqLiveUpdate 14h14 hours ago

 

5 million leaflets dropped by ISF in #Mosul & #Anbar warning people to stay at home, away from Daesh positions "We are coming to your area"

pic.twitter.com/TqEOg64a06

 

https://twitter.com/IraqLiveUpdate

[tigergorzow]

ZATA RAIN‏ @BOMBNER 10m10 minutes ago

 

ZATA RAIN Retweeted Haidar Sumeri

Daesh's cowardliness at its finest. #Mosul #HumanShieldhttps://twitter.com/iraqisecurity/status/847202738844946432 …

ZATA RAIN added,

0:59

Haidar Sumeri @IraqiSecurity

IMPORTANT: Footage of a Da'ish terrorist forcing a child to act as a human shield during a battle in W. #Mosul. Filmed by an Iraqi drone.

 

 

pic.twitter.com/cK6SbQwKpw

 

https://twitter.com/hashtag/mosul

 

1:56 PM - 5 Apr 2017

[tigergorzow]

Mosul: Iraqi troops hunt deadly ISIS snipers

By

Nathan Webber

-

April 5, 2017

 

 

BBC Arabic’s Feras Kilani joins an Iraqi security forces unit hunting snipers from so-called Islamic State in western Mosul.

http://newschicken.com/mosul-iraqi-troops-hunt-deadly-isis-snipers/

[tigergorzow]

Iraqi Forces Recapture Another District from IS in Western Mosul

 

Basnews English

06/04/2017 - 01:02

Iraq

 

 

MOSUL — Iraqi counter-terrorism forces late on Wednesday liberated Maghrib neighborhood of western Mosul from the grip of Islamic State (IS) militants.

Abdul-Amir Yarallah, commander of the Nineveh operations, confirmed the report and stated that IS flags were replaced by the Iraqi flags across the district, and the government forces are now closer to Abar and Matahinish neighborhoods.

After more than three months, the Iraqi army announced full liberation of the entire eastern neighborhoods of Mosul last January. A month later, they launched another major-scale offensive to retake the districts in the western half of the city.

http://www.basnews.com/index.php/en/news/iraq/341148

[tigergorzow]

IS Leaders in West Mosul Flee the City, Abandoning Foreign IS Militants 

 

Mira Rojkan

06/04/2017 - 01:16

Iraq

 

SOFIA — The Iraqi Shi’ite League of Righteous People movement, known as Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq, declared on Wednesday that the leaders of the so-called Islamic State (IS) have started to flee the northern Iraqi city of Mosul and abandon the foreign militants inside the western parts of the city. 

Jawad al-Talibawi, Military Spokesperson for the Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq said in a press statement that the leaders of IS in Mosul have started to escape from the still IS-held areas in the city, abandoning the foreign IS militants who are facing heavy attacks from the Iraqi government forces. According to Talibawi, a number of the foreign IS members surrendered to the Iraqi forces in the last few days, IraqiNews reported.

The movement Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq is an Iraqi Shi’ite paramilitary group, and is currently fighting against the Islamic State extremist group as part of the Shi'ite militia Hashd al-Shaabi, who are also known as the Popular Mobilization Forces. 

The Iraqi forces are currently fighting against IS militants in western Mosul, after the Iraqi government, backed by the US-led coalition, launched the operation for liberating the city of Mosul last year. In January this year, the forces managed to liberate the entire eastern part of the city. Since February they have been putting all efforts into recapturing the remaining western and several central parts of the city. 

http://www.basnews.com/index.php/en/news/iraq/341149

[Synopsis]

The last article states, "The Iraqi Shi’ite League of Righteous People movement, known as Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq, declared on Wednesday that the leaders of the so-called Islamic State (IS) have started to flee the northern Iraqi city of Mosul and abandon the foreign militants inside the western parts of the city."

Where in the world are the Iraqi/coalition air strikes on these cockroaches? How many civilians are near them as they flee in their vehicles? (Likely NONE, really!) This aught to have been like a duck shoot. Scrambled jets should be there well within 20 minutes! They had to have anticipated something like this and planned for it!

                 

[DWS112]

New tactics in the battle of Mosul to protect civilians  April 6, 2017

According to the US National Public Radio (NPR) that the United States and Iraq are working to change tactics to eliminate Daesh in Mosul.
The commander of Nineveh, Maj. Gen. Najim Abdullah al-Jubouri radio that Iraqi forces would slow the pace of the battles in the old city of Mosul in order to reduce the number of civilian casualties.
He explained that the military leaders had agreed not to rely on air strikes because it has claims the lives of many people, he added, "Due to the lack of raids now, we need to make some maneuvers in order to change our plans."
The new tactics, according to al-Jubouri, the redeployment of Iraqi forces to increase support in the surrounding areas in western Mosul, instead of crawling south towards the old city.
Jubouri said that progress on the eastern side of the city was quick, but the situation is now very difficult, "We have liberated 50 percent of the city, but we are well aware that people who are still inside suffer greatly because of the scarcity of food, water, electricity and everything."
It is noteworthy that more than 100 civilians were killed in the bombing targeted a new neighborhood in Mosul on March 17 / March, some blamed for the deaths on the Air International Alliance Against Daesh .othakq US Department of Defense of the possibility that Daesh to plant explosives contributed to the collapse of a number of houses.
Jubouri said that participation in Mosul operations forces were not aware that dozens of people were holed up in those homes.
The Daesh boxed in the city and the port for him to escape, but there are about 400 thousand civilians employed by the organization as human shields and preventing them from leaving.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[DWS112]

Sounds like less frontal attack and more left flank maneuvering.

 

[MyLadiesDaddy]

1 hour ago, DWS112 said:

New tactics in the battle of Mosul to protect civilians  April 6, 2017

According to the US National Public Radio (NPR) that the United States and Iraq are working to change tactics to eliminate Daesh in Mosul.
The commander of Nineveh, Maj. Gen. Najim Abdullah al-Jubouri radio that Iraqi forces would slow the pace of the battles in the old city of Mosul in order to reduce the number of civilian casualties.
He explained that the military leaders had agreed not to rely on air strikes because it has claims the lives of many people, he added, "Due to the lack of raids now, we need to make some maneuvers in order to change our plans."
The new tactics, according to al-Jubouri, the redeployment of Iraqi forces to increase support in the surrounding areas in western Mosul, instead of crawling south towards the old city.
Jubouri said that progress on the eastern side of the city was quick, but the situation is now very difficult, "We have liberated 50 percent of the city, but we are well aware that people who are still inside suffer greatly because of the scarcity of food, water, electricity and everything."
It is noteworthy that more than 100 civilians were killed in the bombing targeted a new neighborhood in Mosul on March 17 / March, some blamed for the deaths on the Air International Alliance Against Daesh .othakq US Department of Defense of the possibility that Daesh to plant explosives contributed to the collapse of a number of houses.
Jubouri said that participation in Mosul operations forces were not aware that dozens of people were holed up in those homes.
The Daesh boxed in the city and the port for him to escape, but there are about 400 thousand civilians employed by the organization as human shields and preventing them from leaving.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I don't like to post anymore because mostly it's just not worth it, but am I the only one that see how to get rid of ISIS? 

Instead of dropping stupid little pieces of paper telling everyone what you're gonna do why don't they simply drop one million M-16 with ten million rounds all over the  city? 

I'd bet my life that the issue of ISIS would be solved within a few hours. 

[kwg]

I agree LGD let the citizens take them out 

[Desertmedic69]

On April 5, 2017 at 3:21 PM, tigergorzow said:

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NRT English‏Verified account @NRT_English 20m20 minutes ago

 

Iraq reopens hot springs #spa amid #Mosul war chaos

http://www.nrttv.com/en/Details.aspx?Jimare=13683 … #NRTnews

pic.twitter.com/cWs0Ovrmnh

https://twitter.com/hashtag/mosul

I accidentally opened an email link on this a few years ago....  I'm still scarred to this day!!!

[tigergorzow]

Exclusive: ISIS terrorists target medical staffers in Nineveh

April 06 2017 12:51 PM

ISIS targets medical staffers

 

Terror group of ISIS is raiding 17th of July neighborhood in Nineveh in search of medical staffers who were absent from work, sources told the Baghdad Post.

ISIS terrorists carried out overnight raids in the district, violating the sanctity of homes, the sources added.

The terrorists forcibly took those medical staffers to the hospital, threatening them that they will kill their parents if they disobey orders, the sources further noted. 

Public hospital in the right bank of Mosul has come under fire over the past days, resulting in severe damages in most of its buildings.

Also, ISIS terrorists force the medical staffers to attend night shifts without receiving fees for their work. 
Those staffers are reported to be in bad living conditions. 

Also, walking down the road leading to the hospital is too risky due to the continued bombing by IMIS terrorists.

http://www.thebaghdadpost.com/en/story/9026/Exclusive-ISIS-terrorists-target-medical-staffers-in-Nineveh

[tigergorzow]

CTS forces recapture Yarmouk neighborhood in right bank of Mosul

April 06 2017 02:30 PM

Breaking

 

Counter-Terrorism Services forces recaptured al-Yarmouk neighborhood in the right bank of Mosul and raised the Iraqi flag over its buildings, an informed source told The Baghdad Post.
 

The security forces have been entrenched for more than a week in a fierce battle at al-Yarmouk neighborhood.
 

These efforts come as part of an offensive launched on 19^th of February by US-backed Iraqi forces supported by Iranian-backed IMIS militias to oust ISIS terrorists from Mosul their last major stronghold in Iraq.

http://www.thebaghdadpost.com/en/story/9035/CTS-forces-recapture-Yarmouk-neighborhood-in-right-bank-of-Mosul

[tigergorzow]

Iraqi army helicopter crashes over eastern Mosul

April 06 2017 04:20 PM

Breaking

 

An Iraqi helicopter crashed over al-Mohandessin district in eastern Mosul, a security source told The Baghdad Post on Thursday.

The reasons behind the crash are not clear yet. It may be ISIS terrorist or technical issue that led to the crash, the source added

This comes as the Iraqi forces, in collaboration with the US-led coalition are waging a fierce battle against the terror group of ISIS in the city of Mosul, the group's last major stronghold in Iraq.

http://www.thebaghdadpost.com/en/story/9044/Iraqi-army-helicopter-crashes-over-eastern-Mosul

[tigergorzow]

Mosul Has Become History’s Greatest Hostage Crisis -Daily Beast

April 06 2017 11:14 PM

.

The Daily Beast

 

Turning the corner from a street where blankets were hanging to obscure the view of enemy snipers, a Humvee roared toward the house where Major Mohammed Ali had set up his command post, The Daily Beast reported.
 
The armored vehicle came to a screeching halt at the gate of the courtyard, and a heavy door swung open to reveal women, children, and soldiers packed tightly inside.

A portly old woman with white hair and few teeth was the first to emerge. She looked shaky on her feet but wasted no time berating the soldiers about the ordeal she had just experienced. Four-year-old Ayesha followed in her wake, her hazel eyes wide open as she stood briefly to take in her new surroundings, her young mind racing to process the terrifying dash to safety. She was swept away by the rest of the family as they spilled out of the Humvee and rushed into the building.

Another Humvee drove up, and the soldiers helped three men out of the back. Their hands had been bound, and they squatted silently next to the wall in the courtyard. After a brief interrogation by an officer, soldiers cut the cords binding their hands and offered bottles of water.

A crying Ayesha ran out of the house and into the arms of her father, Rayan Jasser, who comforted his child and then recounted his family’s dangerous journey out of Mosul’s Old City, turned into a death trap by ISIS.
“Daesh [ISIS] came to our house last night and told us to move farther back into the city. But this morning I saw that the streets were empty, so I took my family and walked toward the front line. Daesh shot at us five times, and we started running,” says Rayan.

As he speaks, the turret gunners of the Humvees guarding the base open up with their heavy machine guns to suppress ISIS snipers that menace from a soccer stadium to the north. Mortar rounds explode nearby.

ISIS’s hold on Mosul has gradually been reduced in five months of fierce fighting. The militants still control the city’s historic core and the northwestern suburbs, and, if such a thing is conceivable, are increasingly brutal in their efforts to slow the Iraqi advance.

Civilians are forced to move farther into the city as the extremists retreat, flooding an ever shrinking area with people. The houses and buildings that ISIS group uses to fire at the military often shelter several families, human shields to deter the use of coalition air power. Anyone trying to cross the front lines is shot at, and civilians frequently are killed as they attempt to flee.

“We spot civilians with a drone when they approach, and then we pick them up at the front line. Every time Daesh sees a family coming towards us, they shoot at them,” says Lieutenant Akil Naseri, who is part of the elite Emergency Response Division (ERD) that holds this part of the front.

The United Nations estimates that up to 400,000 civilians remain trapped in Mosul. In history’s greatest hostage crisis, human tragedy abounds. Amira Yahya, who tagged along with Rayan’s family, left her home without her husband, who had lost his mind from anxiety and refused to leave.

“He said he can’t leave because he needs to take care of his birds,” says Amira, who paused and then added: “He hasn’t got any birds.”

Too frail to walk the half mile to safety, Amira’s old father also stayed behind, and she pleads with her saviors to save these men in her family as well. Before Amira is given a ride out of the city with the rest of the group, she runs her hand down her chin to imitate a beard and draws her finger across her throat, encouraging the soldiers to kill the bushy-bearded  that are the source of her family’s misery.

***

The ERD, an elite force under the auspices of the Interior Ministry, will be fighting alongside Iraqi Federal Police to clear the Old City. Positioned at its western edge, the soldiers know what to expect. Already, the topography they operate in is changing from wide streets and the square pattern of planned urban development into a warren of narrow alleys and traditional stone houses that has grown organically over the centuries.

“This area is different. The roads are very narrow and the Humvees can’t get through. We will fight them face to face,” says Captain Ali. The ERD take pride in their street-fighting skills. Certainly their mettle will be tested as they advance against a foe with no regard for human life.

Soldiers in the light green camouflage pattern of the ERD cluster in the courtyards of the elegant old houses lining a broad street that marks the border of the Old City. They sit in dark rooms smoking shisha pipes, their weapons scattered about, while others peer through the scope of their sniper rifles at the hostile territory that lies apparently lifeless ahead of them.

Armored personnel carriers in the blue and black of the federal police are parked in the street behind, their personnel milling about. Occasionally, the heavy vehicles lumber into position and spray buildings on a thin sliver of no-mans-land with their grenade launchers to deny the enemy terrain on this claustrophobic battlefield.

The troops have become accustomed to the barbarism of their extremist foes. A few days ago, ISIS fighters strapped an explosive belt around a mentally handicapped man and forced him to walk toward ERD lines, says Major Wissam al Shamari, who was at the front with his troops at the time.

A video filmed by one of the soldiers found its way onto social media. It shows a man stumbling confused across a debris strewn street, his arms jerking and his body convulsing with panic.

“We saw that he wasn’t normal, and that he had a lot of bombs strapped to him,” said Major Shamari. His troops fired warning shots that hit the ground close to the man until he turned back into the building he had been sent from.

***

The soldiers have adapted to life in the most dangerous city on earth. They instinctively seek cover or sprint across open spaces to avoid snipers, and do not blink an eye when a mortar smashes into the ground a few meters from their positions. In between operations, they are relaxed as they smoke and drink tea with their comrades, or catch up on sleep on mattresses on the floor.

But the men focus when word of approaching danger comes in.

Captain Ali looks tense after informants in the Old City call up his intelligence officer, Lieutenant Yayha al Saadi, to warn him that ISIS is clearing one of their own road blocks.

The insurgents were preparing to launch a fuel tanker laden with explosives at the Iraqi lines, the informant said, and the captain worries that the massive blast from the suicide attack would level much of the area his men were defending, and tear a huge hole into their lines.

The Iraqis call the U.S.-led coalition for air support, but heavy rainfall prevents the aircraft from getting a clear sight on their target. In the end, the tanker bomb is not driven at the ERD lines, but remains a menace that will cause havoc whenever it is detonated. In the overcrowded Old City, it threatens mass civilian casualties.
Civilians risking their lives to relay information from ISIS-held areas are an invaluable help to the Iraqi military as it plans for offensives and defends against counterattacks.

Four out of his six informants in the Old City are women, says Lieutentant al Saadi. “Women are the better informants. They are more focused, and are more detailed than the men,” says the lieutenant, who has cultivated a network of sources across the city. Four of his informants have been found out by ISIS and murdered, but al Saadi is not concerned the women in the Old City will be caught.

“Daesh doesn’t expect them to be informants. They are told to stay in their houses all day, and they can easily hide their phones in their clothing,” he says.

Al Saadi punches a number on a budget mobile, and a female voice answers. Calmly, a fiftysomething woman speaks to the lieutentant from inside the embattled Old City.

She has counted about 50 insurgents on the streets of her neighborhood from her window, she tells the officer.
“Daesh told us to stay in our homes. They warned us that anyone who goes outside will be killed,” she says.

The situation in the Old City is dire, she continues. Shops long ago ran out of food, and the civilians rely on supplies they stocked up before Mosul was cut off from the outside world last November. Many families survive on a diet of bread, and only eat once or twice a day. There is no electricity or running water, and people are getting rashes from the brackish water they pump from wells in their gardens.

“Sometimes Daesh fighters come to our home to demand food. They are running out of supplies, too,” says the woman on the phone.

Empty stomachs have not prevented the extremists from mounting a fanatical defense.
In the street where the Humvees picked up Rayan and his family, five dead insurgents lie in a narrow courtyard. The group was gunned down by the advancing ERD, but one of the fighters detonated his suicide vest before the bullets could reach him. His body now lies in a heap, the torso a bloated mass of exposed intestines sprawled over a bruised leg, one eye staring blankly from a bruised face.

When Captain Ali talks about the upcoming battle for Mosul’s core, the worry returns to his face. His unit has been ordered to advance all the way to the Tigris River that bisects Mosul and borders the Old City to the east. “Ask me how I will be able do that?” he helps the interview along.

Later, he plays an ISIS propaganda video on his phone, and it becomes clear that his concerns about the impending battle have not affected his motivation.

The clip shows a man in a uniform, hands bound and kneeling somewhere in the desert, staring into the camera before his throat is cut by a masked extremist standing behind him. The man was a member of Iraq’s border police, killed by ISIS somewhere in the desert near Syria. He was also a close friend of the captain.
“I watch it to push me to continue fighting,” says Captain Ali.

http://www.thebaghdadpost.com/en/story/9052/Mosul-Has-Become-History-s-Greatest-Hostage-Crisis-Daily-Beast

[tigergorzow]

How will IMIS confront calls for dismantling after defeating ISIS?

April 06 2017 05:44 PM

 

http://www.thebaghdadpost.com/en/story/9046/How-will-IMIS-confront-calls-for-dismantling-after-defeating-ISIS

[tigergorzow]

More than 40 civilians killed in gov't airstrikes in Mosul

April 06 2017 07:24 PM

Governmental airstrikes kill more than 40

 

More than 40 civilians were killed on Thursday in air strike targeting a house northwest of Mosul Nineveh governorate.

Local residents told The Baghdad Post the government air strikes on a house in Shaheed Mayuf village, west of Badush town, northwest of Mosul.

The victims were trying to escape towards safe exit corridors before they were arrested by ISIS and taken as human shields.

Separately, two government pilots were reported killed on Thursday in Nineveh province after ISIS terrorists targeted their aircraft in the left bank of Mosul.

 Also, eight students were killed and four others were injured when four bombs exploded at Mosul University.

http://www.thebaghdadpost.com/en/story/9048/More-than-40-civilians-killed-in-gov-t-airstrikes-in-Mosul

[tigergorzow]

Iraqi forces control 90% of western Mosul : top commander

 

by Mohamed Mostafa Apr 6, 2017, 9:26 am

Whatsappl

 

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Commander of Nineveh Operations, Maj. Gen. Abdullah al-Jubouri

 

 

Mosul (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi government forces now control 90 percent of territory in western Mosul as operations entered a fifth month to retake Iraq’s second largest city from Islamic State militants, according to a top commander.

Maj. Gen. Najm al-Jubouri, head of the Joint Operations Command’s Mosul operations, said in statements on Wednesday that his troops have become in control over 90 percent of the “western axis”, and continue to advance in central Mosul.

Troops are currently preparing to retake “the remaining regions where Daesh (Islamic State) is positioned” in Tamuz(July), Refaie, Mesherfa and Hamodun districts.

Iraqi government forces, backed by paramilitary troops and a U.S.-led coalition, recaptured eastern Mosul from IS in January after three months of fighting, and launched another offensive mid February to retake the western region.

Dozens of Islamic State senior leaders died in airstrikes and ground offensives over the past few days.

Troops have been struggling to fully retake central Mosul’s Old City, a densely-populated and structured area which generals view as vital for victory over IS.

Iraqi and coalition generals, though admitting the difficulty of the battle for the western region, said IS powers were waning, and that its members had no choice but to fight to death.

The conflict in Mosul has displaced at least 430.000 since operations launched in October, with more than 200.000 having fled the western region alone.

http://www.iraqinews.com/iraq-war/iraqi-forces-control-90-western-mosul-top-commander/

[tigergorzow]

UPDATE: western Mosul’s Yarmouk district recaptured, 42 IS militants killed

 

by Mohamed Mostafa Apr 6, 2017, 1:11 pm

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An Iraqi fighter jet

 

 

Mosul (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi forces recaptured a new district in western Mosul from the Islamic State Thursday, while 42 militants died in airstrikes that targeted their locations.

Lt. Gen. Abdul-Amir Yarallah, chief of the Joint Operations Command operations in Nineveh, said Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Forces took over Yarmouk al-Thania district and raised Iraqi flags above its buildings.

Meanwhile, a statement by the Iraqi Defense Ministry said Iraqi army fighter jets pounded Islamic State locations in the Old City and Yarmouk district, adding that the strikes killed 42 militants and destroyed several combat equipment belonging to the group.

 

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Yarmouk district, western Mosul (google maps).

Iraqi government forces, backed by paramilitary troops and a U.S.-led coalition, recaptured eastern Mosul from IS in January after three months of fighting, and launched another offensive mid February to retake the western region.

Dozens of Islamic State senior leaders died in airstrikes and ground offensives over the past few days.

Troops have been struggling to fully retake central Mosul’s Old City, a densely-populated and structured area which generals view as vital for victory over IS.

Maj. Gen. Najm al-Jubouri, head of the Joint Operations Command’s Mosul operations, said in statements on Wednesday that his troops have become in control over 90 percent of the “western axis”, and continue to advance in central Mosul.

Iraqi and coalition generals, though admitting the difficulty of the battle for the western region, said IS powers were waning, and that its members had no choice but to fight to death.

The conflict in Mosul has displaced at least 430.000 since operations launched in October, with more than 200.000 having fled the western region alone.

http://www.iraqinews.com/iraq-war/district-recaptured-42-islamic-state-militants-killed-western-mosul/

[tigergorzow]

More foreign IS members killed in coalition strikes in western Mosul

 

by Mohamed Mostafa Apr 6, 2017, 2:14 pm

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A dead ISIS leader. A Photo

 

Mosul (IraqiNews.com) U.S.-led coalition fighter jets killed more foreign members of the Islamic State in western Mosul on Thursday, according to Iraqi military intelligence services.

Strikes by the coalition killed 17 members, including 4 foreigners, in 17 Tamuz (July 17th) district in western Mosul, according to a statement by the intelligence service.

The members belonged to the “Soqour al-Khilafa” (Falcons of the Caliphate), an IS subdivision.

Those included Mohsen (Abu Rimas) Awad, a Saudi in charge of the battalion’s suicide bombers, Abdel-Razek (Abu Hesham) Hamdoun, the battalion’s military official, whose nationality was not identified, Khaled Abu Sharaf, an Australian and Abdullah (Abu Aesha) Khaled, a French leading the battalion’s commandos.

 

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17 Tamuz (July 17th) district in western Mosul (google maps)

Iraqi government forces, backed by paramilitary troops and a U.S.-led coalition, recaptured eastern Mosul from IS in January after three months of fighting, and launched another offensive mid February to retake the western region.

Dozens of Islamic State senior leaders died in airstrikes and ground offensives over the past few days.

Troops have been struggling to fully retake central Mosul’s Old City, a densely-populated and structured area which generals view as vital for victory over IS.

Maj. Gen. Najm al-Jubouri, head of the Joint Operations Command’s Mosul operations, said in statements on Wednesday that his troops have become in control over 90 percent of the “western axis”, and continue to advance in central Mosul.

http://www.iraqinews.com/iraq-war/foreign-members-killed-coalition-strikes-western-mosul/

[tigergorzow]

PMUs kill 30 IS militants, confront attack, western Mosul

 

by Nehal Mustafa Apr 6, 2017, 2:23 pm

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Forces from al-Hashd al-Shaabi.

 

Mosul (IraqiNews.com) Parliamentary troops of al-Hashd al-Shaabi (Public Mobilization Units) troops have killed thirty Islamic State members and exploded three vehicles after confronting an attack launched by fighters, west of Mosul.

“The eighth brigade confronted on Thursday an attack by IS militants in al-Hadar area, west of Mosul, using six motorbikes” the media service said.

The service added that the troops encountered the attack, killing 30 IS members and destroying three booby-trapped motorbikes with weapons on them

Meanwhile, the troops also exploded a booby-trapped vehicle that targeted the supply roads in the southwest of Mosul.

“The 33rd brigade exploded a booby trapped vehicle before its arrival as it was targeting the supply roads southwestern Mosul,” the media service said.

The troops confronted several attacks by IS earlier on Thursday.

The PMUs, which consist of 66 militia groups, are considered one of the largest militias in Iraq. It was established in 2014 by a fatwa (religious edict) to fight the Islamic State.

In late 2016, the Iraqi parliament recognized the militia as a national armed force.

Iraqi troops took over east of Mosul in January and launched a new offensive to take the western region in February.

http://www.iraqinews.com/iraq-war/pmus-kill-30-militants-confront-attack-western-mosul/

[tigergorzow]

Besieged residents in Mosul eat cats, grass to survive

 

by Nehal Mustafa Apr 6, 2017, 6:34 pm

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Iraqi people flee the Islamic State stronghold of Mosul in al-Samah neighborhood, Iraq December 2, 2016. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem

 

Mosul (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi people have spoken of the tragic situation they endure at Western Mosul, which is still controlled by Islamic State, saying they resort to cats and grass as food to survive. Deaths due to starvation were reported among children and the elderly.

Around 300,000 besieged civilians live at IS-held regions in Mosul, where battles between the militants and Iraqi troops backed by the U.S.-led coalition are ongoing.

“The residents here began to eat cats, grass and tree leaves as hunger strikes the districts controlled by IS,” Sufian Ahmed, one of the residents at al-Najjar district, told the London-based The New Arab website in a phone call. “We had hopes that the Iraqi jets throw bread for us instead of distributing the flyers.”

“The flyers are gathered and burnt for warming. Grass and tree leaves are boiled to be eaten. Many people died of hunger. We don’t know what destiny awaits us; either to die due to starvation or by shelling or be shot to death by IS,” he added.

Meanwhile, Abu Jaber, another Iraqi who shares the house with Sufian, said “the bodies of victims attract the cats toward destroyed houses, so we can hunt them there before slaughtering to eat them. Women and children have the priority to eat without making them watch the slaughtering of cats.”

“We are now besieged between the Iraqi troops and international coalition from one side and the Islamic State from another side,” he said. “We don’t know when we are going to die but we try to stay alive for longer time.”

“My weight was 80 kilograms. Now I’m just a skeleton. Even the birds that we used to hunt escaped the shelling. I don’t think we have enough stock of cats,” abu Jaber added.

Meanwhile, Mohamed Ali, head of a human rights group called peace organization for human rights, said, “we received similar calls from civilians at IS-held districts. 42 civilians, most of whom are children and elder people, died of hunger.”

“This is insane. They discuss opening safe passageways for the stranded while the battles are ongoing,” he said, adding that government returned back the telecommunications service to these districts before cutting them once again as information on the disastrous human situation was leaked.

430,000 civilians were displaced due to ongoing battles between Iraqi forces and Islamic State militants in Mosul since they broke out in October, the Iraqi government declared on Wednesday.

In a press conference, Migration and Displacement Minister, Jassem al-Jaff, said that 235,000 people fled western Mosul alone since operations launched in February to retake that part of Iraq’s second largest city.

http://www.iraqinews.com/iraq-war/besieged-residents-mosul-eat-cats-grass-survive/

[tigergorzow]

Crazy up close battle footage of Iraqi troops stopping ISIL suicide bombers

By

Leith Fadel

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06/04/2017

0

BEIRUT, LEBANON (9:20 A.M.) – The Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units (Hashd Al-Sha’abi) continued their battle against the Islamic State (ISIL) terror organization this week, targeting the latter’s stronghold of Tal ‘Afar in the western countryside of Mosul.

Video footage of the Popuar Mobilization Units field operations were released by local media on Wednesday; it shows these pro-government forces destroying an Islamic State SVBIED and up-close fighting with the aforementioned terrorist group.

 

With much of Tal ‘Afar surrounded, the Popular Mobilization Units should reach the gates of this strategic town in the coming weeks as they clear more territory near the Badush Mountains.

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/crazy-close-battle-footage-iraqi-troops-stopping-isil-suicide-bombers/