It turns out yesterday’s violence was even worse than
initially reported. Instead of one there were actually three car
bombs in east
Mosul. Those resulted in 15 deaths and 9 wounded. On February 11 two
suicide bombers were killed.
Even though fighting is over in east Mosul the insurgents continue to take a
heavy toll on civilians in the liberated areas. Army Chief of Staff General
Othman al-Ghanemi claimed
that it would take 30 days to eliminate all the sleeper cells. The security
forces (ISF) are conducting sweeps through neighborhoods, and extra units have
been sent in to help. Even if those were all wiped out there would still be the
shelling, drone strikes and infiltration attempts to deal with.
Out in the west the Islamic State also attacked
the Hashd in Tal Abta. These assaults are completely useless as the territory
is mostly wide open allowing the Hashd and Iraqi and Coalition aircraft to wipe
them out.
Rudaw had a
great piece on restaurateur Haji Nasir who was killed in a suicide bombing in
east Mosul on February 10. The man had run ins with the Islamic State since
2005 when they demanded he change the name of his business and imposed a tax on
him. He initially fled in 2014 when the city was taken over, but then returned
where he was again forced to give his business a make over due to IS. After
east Mosul was freed his restaurant became a thriving business in Zuhur until
militants destroyed it.
Several prominent Islamic State leaders have been killed in
the fighting in Mosul. The U.S. led Coalition announced the
death of French national Rachid Kassim. He was responsible for the Paris
attacks in November 2015.
Deutsche Welle reported on how IS continued to complicate
the lives of civilians in Ninewa. It talked with people in the Khazir Camp. One
man was a former policeman who had to hide for two years in Mosul out of fear
that he would be executed by the insurgents He had several cousins however that
joined the organization, which has led his family to now be ostracized. One
family said that they could not live with others that had been part of the
Islamic State. Ninewa’s government has not decided what to do with IS connected
families yet. In Salahaddin, Babil, and Anbar they have been banned from some
areas. The Ninewa council is talking about isolating them in a camp, but
nothing has been made official yet. These all point to collective punishment as
being the method of choice for provincial officials.
SOURCES
Abdul-Zahra,
Qassim, "Iraqi officials: Suicide bombings in eastern Mosul kill 5,"
Associated Press, 2/10/17
Adel,
Loaa, "Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada foils IS attack west of Mosul,"
Iraqi News, 2/11/17
Deutsche Welle, “’IS’ splits Iraq’s Sunni community and
families,” 2/11/17
Europe Balkan Latest News, “5 killed, 300 hurt as Baghdad
anti-government protests turn violent,” 2/11/17
NINA,
"10 People Killed In two Car Bomb in Mosul," 2/10/17
- “Al-Ghanimi: The army, the federal police and the fight
against terrorism are the forces who will enter the right coast of Mosul,”
2/10/17
Rudaw, “Biting the hand that feeds you: How ISIS killed a
Mosul restaurateur,” 2/11/17
- “Notorious French ISIS leader killed in coalition air
strike near Mosul,” 2/11/17
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