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Iraqi commander says some 300 ISIS fighters holed up in just 5,000 square feet of Mosul
 An Iraqi commander says he believes some 300 Islamic State fighters remain in the small patch of territory still controlled by the group in Mosul's Old City. Lt. Gen. Sami al-Aridi of Iraq's special forces said Wednesday that the militants are confined to a 500 square meter (600 square yard or about 5,300 square feet) area. I'd like to just bomb it, but that conflicts with my desire to make these ba$tards pay. And to set an example for how any and all folks who belong/belonged to ISIS need to be treated. He spoke the day after Iraq's Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi congratulated the armed forces on a "big victory" in Mosul, despite ongoing clashes. About 900,000 people, or nearly half of the city's population prior to the fighting, have been displaced amid the battle with ISIS in the city, fleeing to camps or staying with relatives or friends. Doctors without Borders has warned that trauma cases have risen sharply during the final stages of the battle. "Really, (there is) a huge level of human suffering," said Jonathan Henry, MSF emergency coordinator in West Mosul, who recently spent six weeks in Iraq. "This is a massive population that has been traumatized from a very brutal and horrific conflict," he said. Tens of thousands of civilians are still stuck in and around ISIS' redoubt among the rubble of Mosul's Old City. IS captured Mosul in a matter of days when it swept across northern and central Iraq in the summer of 2014. Iraqi forces backed by a U.S.-led coalition launched a major operation to retake the city in October. Posted by: gorb 2017-07-05 |
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