Iraq - Mosul thread

[robert99]

Live updates at
http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/161020167
Turkish Airlines canceled previously scheduled flights to and from the Iraqi capital Baghdad and the Kurdistan Region's capital Erbil on Monday, likely as a result of the beginning of the Mosul offensive earlier on Monday morning.

The United Nations is encouraging civilians fleeing Mosul to not move to the west where the UN and aid agencies do not have access to the territory.

Speaking to the press on Monday evening Lise Grande, the UN’s humanitarian coordinator, said that aid agencies expect the majority of people fleeing Mosul to move east, and some north and south. And aid agencies are prepared to receive populations in those areas.

They are trying to pass the message to civilians in Mosul that going to the west, where ISIS retains control, will be very dangerous.
(In other words, anyone seen fleeing western Mosul will be assumed to be IS and killed. Highway 1 could become like the "Highway of Death" - like in Fallujah)

 

[robert99]

http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/05102016
Is the Mosul operation being launched prematurely?
Ramzy Mardini, a nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council, argued that, "militarily speaking, the Mosul operation is doable," warning like O’Driscoll that the problems lie in post-liberation governance.

"It’s where plans are regarding the governance and political dimension of the equation that make the liberation of Mosul premature," he told Rudaw English.

Mardini worries that if the main force routing ISIS from Mosul isn't strong enough to stabilize the post-battle order, then a dangerous power vacuum could be created, which several militias will seek to fill, much to the detriment of the region's stability and security.

"Liberation without a singular chain of command will contribute to a post-conflict environment that lacks control and executive administration," Mardini said. "Without a force ready to monopolize violence the day after, the 'militiaization' of post-ISIS Mosul becomes a real possibility."

Mardini also worries about the lack of any "central arbiter to manage the relationship, behavior and expectation of the various forces that will control and govern Mosul." That, he fears, will ultimately result in the Shiite-majority Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) -- or Hashd al-Shaabi -- militia gaining a foothold in Nineveh.

"This should concern political leaders in Erbil," he warned. "The Kurds will face a new reality of having Shiite militias on their border, with some even wishing to push the Peshmerga out from territories they gained control of since 2014."

 

[robert99]

Iraq launches Mosul offensive against Islamic State group - France 24
Russian President Vladimir Putin, criticised over the level of civilian casualties during Syrian government operations backed by Moscow in and around the city of Aleppo, said on Sunday he hoped the United States and its allies would do their best to avoid hitting civilians in the attack on Mosul.

 

[robert99]

http://english.alarabiya.net/en/New...-Iraqi-forces-ahead-of-schedule-in-Mosul.html
Iraqi security forces were “ahead of schedule” after the first day of an offensive for the ISIS-held city of Mosul, a Pentagon official said Monday. A US-led coalition has for months been helping train Iraqi forces for the fight for Mosul – the last ISIS stronghold in Iraq – and the military offensive finally got underway early Monday.

Defense ministers from the international coalition fighting ISIS militants in Mosul and elsewhere in Iraq and Syria will meet in Paris on October 25, France said on Monday. US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter will be among 13 ministers who will assess progress in the battle to drive ISIS from Iraq’s second-biggest city, which Iraqi forces launched on Monday.

“The aim is to take a look at the progress of the Mosul plan,” an aide to French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said. The ministers are also expected to stress the importance of the next step in the battle against ISIS – routing the militants from their Syrian stronghold of Raqqa.

The coalition is concerned that ISIS will attempt to move fighters and military equipment from Mosul to Syria as the offensive intensifies. “We must prevent (fighters) based in Mosul from moving easily to Raqqa and we need to ensure that those who are currently able to roam around freely in Syria can be tracked down,” the aide said.

 

[robert99]

http://english.alarabiya.net/en/New...-Iraqi-forces-ahead-of-schedule-in-Mosul.html
Pace of operations slowed on Tuesday as Iraqi forces began pushing toward larger villages and encountering civilian populations during the end of the second day of a massive operation to retake the northern Iraqi city of Mosul from ISIS.

Reports of explosives and booby traps slowed down allied troops as the spokesman for the US-led coalition fighting ISIS Col. John Dorrian warned the ongoing battle to restore the city “will be difficult”.

To compound the operations, ISIS were reportedly barring civilians from leaving Mosul and using them as human shields.

“We know they are being used as human shields, absolutely,” Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain Jeff Davis told reporters.
Ankara: Turkish Air Force participated in coalition strikes on Mosul - Iraqi News
Ankara announced on Tuesday that Turkish warplanes participated in the coalition strikes on Mosul, amid the escalating dispute between Baghdad and Ankara about the Turkish presence in Bashiqa.

Turkish Prime Minister Benali Yildirim said, “The Turkish Air Force participated in air strikes carried out by the US-led international coalition on the Iraqi city of Mosul, as part of the battle to liberate the city from ISIS.”
Armed uprising against ISIS begins in Mosul - Iraqi News
Iraqi media outlets reported on Tuesday that a popular armed uprising is expected to begin in the city of Mosul against the Islamic State and that six ISIS patrols were attacked by Mosul residents within a five hour period.

 

[robert99]

Mosul battle: 900 civilians flee city ahead of fighting - BBC News
Some 900 people have fled the Iraqi city of Mosul and crossed the border into Syria, the UN refugee agency says.

 

[robert99]

Collapse of IS will lead to attacks, say EU officials - BBC News
Senior EU officials have warned that the threat of terrorism could increase as jihadist group Islamic State (IS) faces a major offensive.

EU Counter-Terrorism Co-ordinator Gilles de Kerchove said IS would seek to "reassert itself" by encouraging existing cells or individuals to carry out attacks.

Europol director Rob Wainwright said this was a "crucial time".

Military pressure had, in the past, "caused IS to lash out," he added.

 

[robert99]

http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/19102016
In Sinjar: two Peshmerga were wounded in the ISIS attack, a Peshmerga commander told Rudaw. He added that the attack was so fierce, the Kurdish forces were assisted by the coalition in repelling it.

“With the help of the coalition forces, three Daesh military vehicles were burned," said Dakhil Qasim Smer. "Only two Peshmerga fighters were wounded.”
(Seems to be the M.O. - find IS fighters and call in air-strikes if needed,)

 

[robert99]

Fight for Mosul rages as Iraqi forces push on
"The Iraqi army, not the Peshmerga, are trying to advance into [Hamdaniya]. They tried to storm the area yesterday, but were forced to retreat," said Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr, reporting from Khazir near the frontline.

"If [the Iraqi forces] take over Hamdaniya, they will be at the gates of Mosul itself."

The Popular Mobilization Force, a coalition of mostly Iranian-trained militias, said it would back Iraqi government forces advancing towards Tal Afar, about 55km west of Mosul.

Taking Tal Afar would effectively cut off the escape route for fighters wanting to head into neighbouring Syria, but it could also hamper the escape of civilians.

 

[robert99]

Mosul battle: Kurds launch 'large-scale' offensive - BBC News
BBC reporter to Iraqi General, "It's a dangerous job you have here." General laughs and looks at reporter likes he's an idioit.
Classic.

 

[robert99]

http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/20102016
A US soldier died after being wounded by an improvised explosives device (IED) in northern Iraq, the spokesman of Operation Inherent Resolve anounced.
Mosul: Islamic State is 'a brutal opponent', says US general - BBC News
Separately on Thursday, the US said an American soldier had been killed in a roadside bomb attack in northern Iraq. The incident was the fourth US combat fatality in Iraq since operations against IS began there and in Syria in 2014.

 

[robert99]

So while Kurds & Turks are fighting IS in Mosul, Turks are bombing Kurds in Syria - PressTV-Turkey: Airstrikes killed 200 Kurdish militants

 

[robert99]

http://rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/21102016
ISIS attacks Kirkuk - while everyone is looking at Mosul
At least 12 ISIS militants were killed by security and police forces in Kirkuk Friday morning as the group launched a predawn surprise attack on multiple locations across the city, leading to hours of clashes with the security forces.

An ISIS sniper exited Hotel Cihad and blew himself up in front of the building, Friday afternoon. Two more ISIS snipers are believed to be inside the hotel.

Four militants also attacked a power station the nearby town of Dubis where they killed 10 employees, four of them Iranian nationals working as engineers at the station.

The militants, among them suicide bombers, attacked the former Kirkuk police station and occupied it for a few hours before they were driven out by special anti-terrorism forces.

At least three car bombs were detonated by the group and early in the confrontations Sarhad Qadir, Kirkuk police chief asked residents of the city “to stay indoors until the situation is under control,”

“ISIS attacked the security building and former emergency police station,” Qadir told Rudaw.

Qadir added: “Some people in Kirkuk have been collaborating with ISIS,”