The Iraqi Forces (ISF) made more dramatic advances in east
Mosul on January 18. The Golden Division freed
eight neighborhoods, the archaeological
site in the center of the city, and attacked the Presidential Palace, declared cleared yesterday. The
army freed Qadiya
in the north, and attacked Arabi.
The Hashd in the west took
two towns as well.
The biggest news of the day was the announcement that east
Mosul was freed. This was partially misinterpreted by the press and exploited
by the government for propaganda. General Talib Shaghati of the Golden Division
said
that east Mosul had been taken. General Abdul Amir Yarallah elaborated
that just meant the unit had taken all of the areas that it was assigned in the
battle plan. Southeast Mosul was freed a few days ago, and now the central
section is now under control as well. There was still fighting in the
northeast. General Yahia Rasoul stated the Islamic State remained in four
districts in the north. In fact, one major pointed
out that there was still some clashes going on along the Tigris River in the center
as well.
With most of east Mosul taken the focus is now beginning to
shift to the west. General Abdul Wahab al-Saadi of the Golden Division was preparing to attack
the other half of the city in a few days. There was some disagreement
about how the next phase of the battle would go. A few Iraqi commanders believe
that the west will be easier because of the heavy losses IS has suffered. The
Americans are more cautions warning that it might be tougher since it is a more
built up area. There’s no telling which point of view is correct until the west
is assaulted.
With the recent gains the ISF is capturing a treasure trove
of insurgent documents. Two communication centers were taken, and military
intelligence has found
huge stashes of computer files and documents, including information on foreign
fighters. Some captured material showed that
IS fighters didn’t want to fight and were asking for transfers to Syria and out
of Mosul. These papers just support what was already witnessed on the
battlefield as IS defenses collapsed in just a few days after the offensive was
renewed at the end of December.
Deutsche
Welle was the latest to report on how life is trying to return to normal in
sections of east Mosul. In some areas people were cleaning up and trying to do
some shopping, even in areas with mortar fire. In Gogjali, which is just
outside of the city, life was more bustling since it was the first area freed.
One problem is that the government and aid agencies have not delivered enough
supplies to the liberated areas. People also do not have jobs, which means they
have little money. That will likely be a
major issue for several weeks since the government is unlikely to restart
payment to its former workers or restore offices and services until the entire
city is freed. Until that happens there will only be very small business
activity as the authorities fuel buying power in the country as the largest
employer.
SOURCES
Ade, Loaa, "Al-Hashd al-Shaabi liberates 2 areas in Nineveh
Plain," Iraqi News, 1/18/17
AIN, “New We Are Coming: freed eastern axis of Mosul, not
the Left Coast,” 1/18/17
BBC, “Mosul battle: Iraqi army prepares offensive on west of
city,” 1/18/17
Buratha News, "Counter terrorism forces storm the
presidential palaces on the left coast of Mosul," 1/18/17
Coles, Isabel, “Iraq special forces chief says mission
accomplished in east Mosul,” Reuters, 1/18/17
Deutsche Welle, “Life returns to Mosul neighborhoods freed
from IS,” 1/18/17
Al Forat, “Defense: the northern axis of Ninewa operations
made significant progress on the left coast,” 1/18/17
Gladstone, Rick, “Iraqi Forces Take Eastern Mosul From Islamic
State,” New York Times, 1/18/17
Iraq Oil Report, "Inside Mosul: Jan. 18, 2017," 1/18/17
Al Malomah, “Abdul Wahab al-Saadi: our troops are ready to
break into the right side of Mosul,” 1/18/17
- “Pictures: Daash documents reveal unwillingness to fight
in Mosul and their desire to leave,” 1/18/17
Mostafa, Mohamed, "Command denies reports that eastern Mosul
was officially liberated," Iraqi News, 1/18/17
- Mohamed, “Iraqi general sees easier battles in western
Mosul, American sees opposite,” Iraqi News, 1/18/17
New Sabah, “Abadi announced approaching the full liberation
of Mosul,” 1/18/17
- "The Joint forces on the verge of freeing the left coast of
Mosul within days," 1/17/17
- “Treasure of Daesh information in the grip of military
intelligence,” 1/18/17
Rudaw, “Iraqi counter-terror forces declare victory in E.
Mosul, clashes in north ongoing,” 1/18/17
Salaheddin, Sinan, “Iraq military: Troops have ‘full
control’ of eastern Mosul,” Associated Press, 1/18/17
Xinhua, "Iraqi forces seize main part of eastern Mosul from
IS," 1/18/17
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