Mosul Campaign Day 140, Mar 5, 2017

The Iraqi forces (ISF) went back on the offensive after a one day pause. On March 5 there were no operations due to the poor weather. On March 6 the ISF went back to work attacking along two fronts. First, the Federal Police and Rapid Reaction Division continued their push up the Tigris River assaulting the Danadan and Dawas neighborhoods, taking the former. The Golden Division moved up the center of south Mosul into Sumoud, Tal Ruman, Shuhada and Mansour. Danadan, Dawas and Tal Ruman had all been declared freed before. In Tal Ruman, the Islamic State were using civilians as human shields to try to stop the Iraqi advance. U.S. Apache helicopters as well as the mix of Coalition and Iraqi planes were seen overhead. The ISF are still in the tip of south Mosul pushing into the center, but are making steady progress. As usual, the Islamic State is putting up a stiff defense, but it is only a matter of time before it is broken.

National Public Radio visited a field hospital outside of Mosul. There have been much higher casualties than expected. Some Iraqi units have suffered 30% casualty rates. Civilians are taking the brunt of the fighting, and some have died because of the lack of urgent care. The United Nations, aid groups and the Health Ministry have tried to move health facilities closer to the front to tend to better tend to the wounded.

The number of people leaving west Mosul continued to climb. According to the International Organization for Migration 34,420 people have registered with the government and aid agencies. The Displacement Ministry had a much higher figure of more than 57,000. The displaced are being taken to camps south of Mosul, but the camps there are now overflowing, so some are being bused to Irbil. Far more people have been displaced from west Mosul than the east for a number of reasons. There have been a high number of casualties due to the fighting, civilians in the west have lived under deprived conditions with severe shortages of food, water, and services. Finally, thousands of people were taken from southern villages and forced into the city to be used as human shields. Some are still being dragged along with the Islamic State as it retreats to be used for that purpose.

Civilians fleeing towards govt held lines in Mosul (Reuters)

SOURCES

Abdul-Zahra, Qassim, “Wave of Daesh car bombs targets Iraqi troops in west Mosul,” Associated Press, 3/5/17

Adel, Loaa, "Iraqi forces recapture Tal Rumman village in western Mosul," Iraqi News, 2/27/17

Agence France Presse, “Iraq forces attack 4 jihadist-held areas in west Mosul,” 3/5/17

Baghdad Post, “Iraq’s forces control government complex in Mosul,” 3/5/17

Bas News, “Iraqi Troops Gain Further Ground in Center of Mosul,” 3/5/17

BBC, “Mosul battle: New Iraqi push on IS-held city centre,” 3/5/17

Beck, John, “Battle for Mosul: ISIL’s human shields,” Al Jazeera, 3/5/17

Buratha News, “Extended/Latest developments in the field of Ninewa We Are Coming operation until 15:00 Sunday 05 03 2017,” 3/5/17

Chmaytelli, Maher, “Over 40,000 displaced from Mosul in a week as Iraqi forces near old city,” Reuters, 3/5/17

- “Powerful photographs show moment people cross from Isis-controlled Mosul to Iraqi soldiers,” Reuters, 3/5/17

Chulov, Martin, “Iraqi forces push into deadliest areas of Mosul as civilian exodus accelerates,” The Guardian, 3/5/17

Croft, Jay, “Number of Iraqis fleeing Mosul nears 60,000,” CNN, 3/5/17

Fordham, Alice, “No One Was Prepared To Care For So Many Wounded In Mosul,” NPR, 3/5/17

Iraq Oil Report, "Inside Mosul: Feb. 28, 2017," 2/28/17

Al Jazeera, “Report: More than 200,000 displaced by Mosul conflict,” 3/5/17

Mostafa, Mohamed, “Govt: camps received 57000 refugees from western Mosul,” Iraqi News, 3/5/17

- “Iraqi forces control most of 2 western Mosul districts, pound Tal Afar,” Iraqi News, 3/5/17

- “Iraqi forces storm 4 districts in central Mosul, alleged Baghdadi’s cousin arrested,” Iraqi News, 3/5/17

- "Sixteen civilians killed in security-IS battles in western Mosul," Iraqi News, 3/5/17

New Sabah, “A break in the fight for the Counter Terrorism Forces In Samoud and Tal Ruman in West Mosul,” 3/5/17

- "House-to-house fighting in new Iraqi offensive on west Mosul," 3/5/17

NINA, "Rapid Reaction Forces Storm The First Popular Area In The Southern Axis Of Mosul," 2/25/17

Rudaw, “Assault on ISIS resumes in west Mosul after weather delay,” 3/5/17

Shafaaq News, “Apaches engaged supporting the Iraqi forces in the battle for Mosul,” 3/5/17

- "Full details of the last 24-hours of battle in Mosul," 2/24/17

Snell, James, “Battle for Mosul shows retreating caliphate,” Arab Weekly, 3/5/17

UN High Commissioner for Refugees, “Iraq Situation: UNHCR Flash Update – 5 March 2017,” 3/5/17

Xinhua, “57,000 civilians flee homes in western Mosul amid fierce clashes against IS,” 3/5/17

- “Iraqi forces initiate new progress toward city center of western Mosul,” 3/5/17

- “Total number of displaced people in Iraq’s Mosul exceeds 200,000 mark,” 3/5/17