Battle for Mosul: Iraqi army claims gains against ISIL

[webfact]

Battle for Mosul: Iraqi army claims gains against ISIL

 

 

BAGHDAD: -- Iraqi government forces claim to have made gains against ISIL, on the first day of a long-anticipated offensive to retake the northern city of Mosul.

 

Footage showed several giant explosions, thought to be ISIL suicide car bombs, rocking the battlefield.

 

Kurdish fighters are taking part in the advance, which has been months in the planning.

 

Massoud Barzani, President of the Kurdish Regional Government of Iraq said:’‘Military commanders from both the Iraqi army and the Kurdish Peshmerga forces have been working together for a long time to plan for this offensive on Mosul.’‘

 

It took ISIL just four days to capture Mosul during its blitzkrieg advance across Iraq in 2014. It is expected take weeks, maybe months, to get it back.

 

Turkey, which also has troops in northern Iraq, says it is watching events closely.

 

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said: “I am sorry but we are not responsible for the possible outcomes of this operation that Turkey is not participating in. We will take part in this operation and we will also be at the negotiation table as well. We have a 350 kilometre border with Iraq that we have to defend from potential threats.’‘

 

In addition to Iraqi troops and Kurdish Peshmerga fighters the US led coalition advancing on Mosul also includes Shia militia and Sunni tribal groups.

 

 

-- © Copyright Euronews 2016-10-18

[bartender100]

ISIL have not a chance now, they are finished, Peshmerga will see to that

[anotheruser]

They made their bed...

[coma]

Let's hope they are all killed or captured. And not left to skive off to continue the insurgency as has been the case up until now. 

[craigt3365]

5 hours ago, coma said:

Let's hope they are all killed or captured. And not left to skive off to continue the insurgency as has been the case up until now. 

Interesting to compare this battle with the one in Allepo. Reporters are allowed to document things and there's no mass bombing of the city. Most of the work is being done by locals. Not outside proxy armies from Russia and Iran.

[coma]

2 hours ago, craigt3365 said:

Most of the work is being done by locals. Not outside proxy armies from Russia and Iran.

I guess you missed this thread..............

 

"U.S. airpower played a key role in the run-up to the fight for Mosul by taking out Islamic State defenses, cash resources, supply routes and some of the group's leaders. The U.S. is now providing air cover as Iraqi security forces and members of the Kurdish militia begin their attempt to retake the city over the next several weeks. American advisers are working with Iraqi troops, but the outcome will be determined largely by the Iraqis'

 

 

 

[craigt3365]

1 hour ago, coma said:

I guess you missed this thread..............

 

"U.S. airpower played a key role in the run-up to the fight for Mosul by taking out Islamic State defenses, cash resources, supply routes and some of the group's leaders. The U.S. is now providing air cover as Iraqi security forces and members of the Kurdish militia begin their attempt to retake the city over the next several weeks. American advisers are working with Iraqi troops, but the outcome will be determined largely by the Iraqis'

 

 

 

Didn't miss it. Do some research on the soldiers on the front line. Coalition forces are small in comparison,  in the air and providing logistical support,  primarily.

[Morch]

8 hours ago, bartender100 said:

ISIL have not a chance now, they are finished, Peshmerga will see to that

 

ISIS might eventually lose its grip on parts of Iraq and Syria. Mosul is not their last bastion, and liberating all areas held by ISIS will take a while, and will not  be as easy as some imagine.And when both will fall, what then? They will simply turn to run-of-the-mill terrorist actions.

[craigt3365]

1 hour ago, Morch said:

 

ISIS might eventually lose its grip on parts of Iraq and Syria. Mosul is not their last bastion, and liberating all areas held by ISIS will take a while, and will not  be as easy as some imagine.And when both will fall, what then? They will simply turn to run-of-the-mill terrorist actions.

I just saw an interview with a rep from Saudi Arabia saying they are worried the invading armies will take out religious retributions. What a mess.

[Morch]

1 hour ago, craigt3365 said:

I just saw an interview with a rep from Saudi Arabia saying they are worried the invading armies will take out religious retributions. What a mess.

 

That's one of the reason the US held back the Iraqi army. Lessons learned from the Iraqi army's capture of other towns. Seems like the Sunni residents were not thrilled with the heavy handed treatment dished by their supposed liberators. Hence, there will be Sunni units/forces present when the city is taken.

 

In all probability,  ISIS already prepared its defenses, and as those are embedded within civilian population - suspicion from soldiers would be natural. I would guess that US forces (more like support/aid/medical) will be deployed as well. Hopefully the situation will not get out of hand.

 

As for expected refugees - there are camps set up by now, sponsored by the UN and Coalition members. In theory, they should provide a reprieve, while decreasing the likelihood of further strain on Turkey an Europe.

[simple1]

15 minutes ago, Morch said:

 

<snip>

 

As for expected refugees - there are camps set up by now, sponsored by the UN and Coalition members. In theory, they should provide a reprieve, while decreasing the likelihood of further strain on Turkey an Europe.

 

Claims vary of civilians within Mosul from 600k to more than a million. News reports I have seen claim their are support facilities in place for 60,000 refugees, the battle to retake Mosul could last for weeks or months. I guess the longer it takes the more refugees / displaced people., could end up as a humanitarian mess. Let's hope for a swift successful retake of Mosul and political solutions so the area doesn't descend into sectarian hell.

 

Bet lots of mass graves will be found from the murderous actions of Daesh against the population

 

 

[Morch]

38 minutes ago, simple1 said:

 

Claims vary of civilians within Mosul from 600k to more than a million. News reports I have seen claim their are support facilities in place for 60,000 refugees, the battle to retake Mosul could last for weeks or months. I guess the longer it takes the more refugees / displaced people., could end up as a humanitarian mess. Let's hope for a swift successful retake of Mosul and political solutions so the area doesn't descend into sectarian hell.

 

Bet lots of mass graves will be found from the murderous actions of Daesh against the population

 

 

 

Many headlines cited the catchy 1 million potential refugees quote. That could be the case, but it would mean the vast majority of the residents clearing off. I don't think that would be possible, neither probable. But either way, there would be a large number of civilians in need of shelter. Not sure how many refugees can be housed in said camps, and guess there will always be more refugees than tents and beds. Another worrying aspect is the onset of winter, which will no doubt slow down military operations while making conditions for refugees even worse.

 

I'd worry less about mass graves and more about ISIS using the civilians as hostages when push comes to shove.

[tonbridgebrit]

Okay, the Iraqi army is now re-taking Mosul, great.

Let's hope the ISIS rebels in Mosul all get removed.

A couple of links here regarding Mosul having ISIS removed.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-37689210

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/10/18/europe-should-prepare-for-fresh-wave-of-isil-jihadists-fleeing-m/



They're trying to say, that the removal of ISIS in Mosul might lead to a load of ISIS guys turning up in Europe.

A quote from the Daily Telegraph.   "Europe must prepare for a fresh influx of Isil jihadists fleeing Mosul as the army moves in on their last Iraqi stronghold, the EU’s security commissioner has warned."   And  ["The retaking of the IS's northern Iraq territory, Mosul, may lead to the return to Europe of violent IS fighters," Julian King said. 'This is a very serious threat and we must be prepared to face it.” ]

And a third quote " the jihadists - with no major territory left in Iraq - could move across the border to Syria, where they will either join the fight against President Bashar al-Assad’s forces or travel on to Turkey or Europe."

Let's hope the Iraqis can surround Mosul, and catch all the ISIS guys. They're backed by Washington's airpower, how can they fail ? They won't.

 

Edited October 19, 2016 by tonbridgebrit
missing sentence

[craigt3365]

1 hour ago, tonbridgebrit said:

Okay, the Iraqi army is now re-taking Mosul, great.

Let's hope the ISIS rebels in Mosul all get removed.

A couple of links here regarding Mosul having ISIS removed.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-37689210

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/10/18/europe-should-prepare-for-fresh-wave-of-isil-jihadists-fleeing-m/



They're trying to say, that the removal of ISIS in Mosul might lead to a load of ISIS guys turning up in Europe.

A quote from the Daily Telegraph.   "Europe must prepare for a fresh influx of Isil jihadists fleeing Mosul as the army moves in on their last Iraqi stronghold, the EU’s security commissioner has warned."   And  ["The retaking of the IS's northern Iraq territory, Mosul, may lead to the return to Europe of violent IS fighters," Julian King said. 'This is a very serious threat and we must be prepared to face it.” ]

And a third quote " the jihadists - with no major territory left in Iraq - could move across the border to Syria, where they will either join the fight against President Bashar al-Assad’s forces or travel on to Turkey or Europe."

Let's hope the Iraqis can surround Mosul, and catch all the ISIS guys. They're backed by Washington's airpower, how can they fail ?

 

From the article.

 

Quote

Some 2,500 EU nationals are currently fighting alongside Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil), he added, and that if even a handful return it would pose a "serious threat that we must prepare ourselves for".

 

As for how could they fail with Washington's airpower backing them? I guess the same way Syria has failed to deal with IS in over 5 years of war with Russia's airpower backing them?

Edited October 19, 2016 by craigt3365