There has been two weeks of pause in between offensive
operations in Mosul. In those days the Iraqi Forces (ISF) have continued to
report their readiness and the collapse of the Islamic State. The Golden
Division’s General Abdul Wahab al-Saadi said that his units were ready
to attack west Mosul. At the same time he claimed IS had fallen apart because
it has lost most of its leaders and were low on supplies. Similar statements
are made almost everyday by ISF commanders.
The Iraqi forces actually made some offensives moves on
February 13. The Federal Police were clearing
the territory south of Mosul along the Tigris River, and took
a village while doing so. This was probably in preparation for the assault on
west Mosul to make sure the lines of advance are cleared of IEDs and other IS
barriers. The Hashd also freed two villages in the west. At the start of
February the Hashd announced the 6th phase of their operations, but
despite the hype it only lasted a few days, but did cut some IS supply lines to
Syria. Since then those units have been holding their ground against IS
attacks.
On February 12 the insurgents launched three large attacks
in the Tal Afar district to reportedly break open routes to Syria. This even
involved tanks, rarely seen in Iraq. The next day four car bombs were destroyed in the district,
and an Algerian journalist was wounded
by IS sniper fire. The militants are constantly probing the Hashd lines in the
west. They are always turned back however due to the wide open terrain, which
allows the quick detection of these thrusts and their eventually destruction.
IS has started attacks to the south of Mosul as well.
Islamic State fighters set upon the towns
of Albu Saif and Hamam al-Alil. These were probably aimed at disrupting the ISF
staging there for the upcoming campaign against west Mosul.
East Mosul now suffers more daily attacks then any other
area of Iraq. 2
suicide bombers hit a market killing 12 and wounding 33. Mortars
and rockets
landed on six neighborhoods leaving 6 dead and 25 injured. Drones
hit
at least two areas resulting in 4 fatalities and 7 wounded. The Golden
Division’s General Saadi tried to play down these incidents saying they were
having little effect. It is true that they are not stopping life from returning
to the east, but they are forcing people out of the city and causing a growing
number of casualties.
There are now more people returning to Mosul then leaving,
but there are continued difficulties. The United
Nations had 791 people leaving east Mosul for two displacement camps from
February 8-9, while 1,442 went back at the same time. On February 13, the
Golden Division blocked
people from entering the city coming from the Bartella area for security
reasons, likely because of reports of IS infiltrators. A few people are
escaping IS held west Mosul as well. They are often shot
at by IS to try to stop them. People returning are finding that most basic services
are unavailable. There is no electricity so people have to rely upon
generators. The main water system was destroyed in late January 2017 so water
is being trucked in. Aid groups are also distributing kerosene and dry foods,
but that is only to some areas. There are markets open, but again, they are not
accessible to all and shortages are causing high inflation. Looting has also
gone on and some homes have been burned. At the same time, 240 families at two
camps, roughly 1,400 people have refused to leave because they said that their
villages have been completely destroyed and there was nothing to go back to.
There are others that are frustrated that they can’t leave yet because their
towns have either not been cleared of explosives or they are too close to the
frontlines. The United Nations is still concerned about arbitrary arrests of
people entering the camps by the security forces. The ISF has also evicted
people from areas because they are accused of being IS sympathizers, while
others are not allowed out of camps for the same reasons. Many displaced lack
their official documents, which means they cannot get aid from the various
government agencies.
Rudaw
talked with Vice President Osama Nujafi. He told the paper that the people of
Mosul welcomed the ISF for liberating them. The problems now involve the lack
of services, restoring order and IS sleeper cells within the city. He also
claimed there have been abuses by the security forces, but that have not been
systematic. In the future after the insurgents were expelled he wants Ninewa
turned into a federal region, something he and his brother, ex-Ninewa Governor
Atheeel Nujafi have talked about for quite some time.
SOURCES
Adel,
Loaa, "Federal Police repulses IS attack south of Mosul, 13 militants
killed," Iraqi News, 2/13/17
-
"IS shells 5 schools near Mosul, kills and wounds 28 students and
teachers," Iraqi News, 2/13/17
Buratha
News, "Recent developments in the field during Ninewa We Are Coming
operations until 14:55 Monday 12 02 2017," 2/13/17
Iraq Oil Report, "Inside
Mosul: Feb. 12, 2017," 2/12/17
New Sabah, “Anti-Terrorism Forces reveal a major breakdown
in the ranks of Daesh in East Mosul,” 2/13/17
Rudaw, “Sunnis more divided than others, Maliki has no
chance of becoming PM again,” 2/13/17
Shafaaq
News, "Algerian journalist wounded by a sniper near Mosul," 2/13/17
- “Iraqi forces begin operations on the Tigris River
southeast of Mosul,” 2/13/17
-"Killing
a woman and her child and injuring her daughter by a Daesh missile targeting
their home northeast Mosul," 2/13/17
- “Source: Counter-terrorism forces prevent entry of people
to Mosul coming from Kurdistan Region,” 2/13/17
-
"Urgent..Daesh launches more than 10 drone attacks on eastern area of
Mosul," 2/13/17
Sotaliraq,
"12 civilians were killed in a double suicide attack east Mosul,"
2/13/17
Al
Sumaria, "Killing and wounding 11 civilians in bombing by Daesh drone in
East Mosul," 2/13/17
UN High Commissioner for Refugees, “Iraq Situation: UNHCR
Flash Update – 13 February 2017,” 2/13/17
- “Mosul Weekly Protection Update, 4-10 February 2017,”
2/10/17
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