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Iraq |
Iraqi army drops leaflets over Mosul in preparation for offensive |
2016-10-16 |
[Reuters] The Iraqi army dropped tens of thousands of leaflets over Mosul before dawn on Sunday, warning residents that an offensive to recapture their city from Islamic State was in its final stages of preparation, according to a military statement in Baghdad. The leaflets carried several messages, one of them assuring the population that advancing army units and air strikes "will not target civilians" and another telling them to avoid known locations of Islamic State militants. The assault on Mosul, the last city still under control of the ultra-hardline Islamic State in Iraq, could begin this month, according to Iraqi government and military officials. Islamic State fighters are dug in, expected to fight hard and have a history of forcing civilians to stay in harm's way during previous battles to defend territory. Reflecting the authorities' concerns over a mass exodus that would complicate the offensive, the leaflets told residents "to stay at home and not to believe rumors spread by Daesh" to cause panic, referring to Islamic State by its Arabic acronym. |
Posted by:Besoeker |
#11 Iraq has announced start of Mosul Operation. The Mosul Dam collapsing would be a certain ironic justice. |
Posted by: phil_b 2016-10-16 20:44 |
#10 oops,#8 was me. |
Posted by: Procopius2k 2016-10-16 17:54 |
#9 ..that's when they fought real wars. Just ask the citizens of St.Lo about concern of civilian casualties. |
Posted by: Procopius2k 2016-10-16 17:54 |
#8 ..that's when they fought real wars. Just ask the citizens of St.Lo about concern of civilian casualties. |
Posted by: Grith Unomonter9075 2016-10-16 17:53 |
#7 How long did it take to get ready for the Normandy invasion? It's gotta be getting close. |
Posted by: Matt 2016-10-16 14:55 |
#6 Still no casualty figures resulting from the bombing of Houthi radar sites. Perhaps they received 'just in time' leaflets as well. |
Posted by: Besoeker 2016-10-16 12:52 |
#5 And based on Murphy's Law, the Mosul Dam should collapse during the peak of the fighting. Just sayin'. |
Posted by: Alaska Paul 2016-10-16 12:39 |
#4 Acute shortage of toilet paper has been addressed. |
Posted by: Procopius2k 2016-10-16 10:27 |
#3 the regular army might not intentionally target civilians but they will be hit anyway and if the Shia militia get their chance they will be happy to kill anybody they think is sympathetic to ISIS and if people do escape, the Iraq govt will house them in flimsy tents all winter will little food oh and have a nice day |
Posted by: lord garth 2016-10-16 09:08 |
#2 Nothing like the element of surprise (sarc) |
Posted by: JohnQC 2016-10-16 08:49 |
#1 Attention to all the Faithful! Some time in the next four or five months (give or take) Mosul will ne liberated (after a fashion) Take Note! Praise Allan!! |
Posted by: M. Murcek 2016-10-16 08:37 |