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Mosul Offensive News
Militia leader sez Mosul siege to take a while(IraqiNews.com) Baghdad – The ongoing battle seeking to liberate the city of Mosul from Islamic State militants could last for several months, speaker of al-Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary forces said Tuesday as operations to recapture the city complete one month. Ahmed al-Asadi told non14.net news website that “the closer the troops become to their strategic targets, the slower the operations will be.” He reiterated that operations will take “months rather than weeks”, attributing his speculation to the fact that “Mosul is home for more than 1.25 million civilians,” explaining that al-Hashed al-Shaabi’s top concern is to ensure the safety for civilians during battles. “The closer we get to our strategic targets, the enemies change their resistance tactics by resorting to street battles, making use of buildings. We expect operations to maintain the current pace which has lasted for more than ten days.” Also on Tuesday, al-Hashed al-Shaabi media body said the forces had liberated four villages on the western axis of Mosul, becoming 18 kilometers away from the airport of the strategic town of Tal Afar. “Should al-Hashed forces take control of Tal Afar airport, that would be a prelude to the liberation of the whole town and the obstruction of a main ISIS supply line to Mosul,” read the statement. The imminent advance to Tal Afar has been contentious over the past weeks, with Turkey voicing fears of possible human rights violations by the mostly-Shia al-Hashed al-Shaabi against the Sunni Turkmen residents of the town. Asadi, however, said the militia would handle the town “accurately and sensitively” due to it’s complicated status. He accused Turkey of seeking “a pretext to intervene in Iraqi affairs,” accusing Turkey and Saudi Arabia of providing logistic and weaponry support for the extremist group. “At every battle, we see new weapons for ISIS entering Iraq through the Turkish borders with Saudi finance. They have killed us with their money for years,” Asadi stated. Iraqi forces capture Tal Akoub (IraqiNews.com) Baghdad – Iraqi joint forces recaptured on Wednesday the village of Tal Akoub, north of al-Zab, Mosul, from Islamic State militants, commander of the operations said, while ISIS shelled an already liberated village. Lieutenant General Abdul Amir Yarallah, commander of operation “We Are Coming, Nineveh,” said the 9th armoured division liberated the village and raised the Iraqi flag above its buildings. Meanwhile, Rudaw news network said several casualties fell Wednesday as ISIS shelled al-Zahraa village with mortar bombs. Al-Zahraa was recaptured by Iraqi forces last week. Its reporter quoted a young man as saying that a lady and her four kids were killed in the bombardment. The did not set a definite count of deaths, but said that casualties were taken to hospitals by military vehicles. Iraqi forces, assisted by US-led air forces and popular militias, have entered a month of battles to liberate Mosul from ISIS militants who had proclaimed the city as the capital of their “Islamic Caliphate” before surrendering to consecutive victories by the Iraqi forces and losing much ground. Last week, the US-led coalition said 1363 ISIS militants were killed since the start of battles for Mosul. On Tuesday, the joint forces said in a press conference Iraqi and international forces had killed more than 1300 militants on the southern axis of Mosul operations. Iraqi forces capture Tal Afar airport (IraqiNews.com) Nineveh – Al-Hashed al-Shaabi militias said Wednesday they have militarily recaptured the Tal Afar airport, a major operational step towards the center of Mosul. The militia said in a statement that it liberated the village of Tal al-Romh, 2 kilometers from the airport, from Islamic State militants, putting the airport within their “firing range”. It also captured the village of Tal al-Souban, east of the airport. “al-Hashed al-Shaabi’s intelligence had detected calls by ISIS to their fighters to withdraw from Tal al-Romh to Tal Khedr Elias,” the militia’s media body said. On Tuesday, al-Hashed al-Shaabi media body said the forces had liberated four villages on the western axis of Mosul, becoming 18 kilometers away from the airport of the strategic town of Tal Afar. “Should al-Hashed forces take control of Tal Afar airport, that would be a prelude to the liberation of the whole town and the obstruction of a main ISIS supply line to Mosul,” read the statement. The imminent advance to Tal Afar has been contentious over the past weeks, with Turkey voicing fears of human rights violations by the mostly-Shia al-Hashed al-Shaabi against the Sunni Turkmen residents of the town. ISIS artillery attack in Tel al-Tawba kills 14 (IraqiNews.com) Nineveh – A shelling conducted by the Islamic State group east of Mosul, either killed or wounded 21 civilians, including women and children, Bas New reported on Wednesday. Officer at the Anti-Terrorism Directorate, Major Ali Mohsen, said in a press statement, “14 civilians, including women and children, were killed and 7 others were wounded, in a rocket attack launched by the ISIS from Tel al-Tawba village targeting al-Zohour Street and nearby houses.” “The bodies were transferred to the hospitals of Mosul, while the majority of families in the area migrated toward the liberated areas,” Mohsen added. Iraqi commander claims to be 4 Km from Mosul (IraqiNews.com) Nineveh – Commander of the Iraqi Anti-Terrorism forces, Major General Abdel Wahab al-Saadi announced on Wednesday, that his forces is controlling Hayy al-Bakr area, one of the most important ISIS strongholds east of Mosul, and emphasized that these forces are only 4 kilometers away from the center of the city. Saadi also pointed out to the killing of tens of ISIS militants in the outskirt of the neighborhood, and revealed that the international coalition air force conducted four extensive airstrikes to destroy heavy weapons and booby-trapped vehicles belonging to the extremist group in the area. Meanwhile, forces from the army’s 9th Armored Brigade advanced toward the southeast of Mosul, and reached Hayy al-Salam, and will continue advancing toward the 4th bridge on the west coast. Also, Federal Police forces, backed by Nineveh Operations forces are advancing in the battles against the ISIS militants, south of Mosul, who withdrew from the areas of Hayy Albu Saif and al-Ghazlani near the southern entrance of the city. Posted by: badanov 2016-11-17 |
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