There was more movement into the middle of west Mosul, and
in the Badush district. The Golden Division seized
the Amil 1, Amil 2 and the Aghawat
neighborhoods. The Federal Police and Rapid Reaction Division moving up the
Tigris River freed Nabi
Sheet, Okaidat, Bab
Jadid, and attacked Bab
al-Tob again. To the west of the city the Iraqi forces (ISF) took two
more towns in the Badush area. The advance along multiple fronts is
stretching the Islamic State’s defenses. General Maan al-Saadi from the Golden
Division claimed that they had been broken, but that’s yet to be seen.
There are more reports that civilians are taking the brunt
of the fighting. The latest came from the Iraqi Observatory for Human Rights
who claimed
that at least 700 have been killed in the fighting for west Mosul. The dense
layout of west Mosul and the Islamic State forcing civilians to stay in their
firing positions to be used as human shields have both contributed to the high
casualty rate.
The United Nations is worried that its camps for the
displaced (IDPs) will quickly be overwhelmed. According
to the Displacement Ministry 76,787 people had fled west Mosul so far, and over
6,000 were leaving each day. The U.N. quoted
the Iraqi forces that 40,000 could be displaced in the next two days’ fighting.
The camps to the south of Mosul are completely full and the ones in Kurdistan are
almost at capacity. The U.N. is building two more, but they will not be ready
if that many people flow out of the city in the next 48 hours. This is the
reason why Baghdad told the people of Mosul to stay in their homes. Neither the
government nor aid agencies have the money or capacity to accommodate so many
people.
The latest casualty figures from the Mosul campaign based
upon daily review of over 40 media outlets mostly Iraqi showed that 7,648 had
died and 22,690 were wounded in Ninewa so far. The vast majority, 6,340 of
those killed and 17,124 of the injured were civilians. The Islamic State has
been accused of executing 3,279 and Coalition air strikes were blamed for 734
dead and 717 wounded.
Mosul Campaign
Casualties 10/17/16-3/7/17
Killed 7,648
Wounded 22,690
SOURCES
Agence France Presse, “Iraq forces advance in Mosul as IS
resistance ‘weakens,’” 3/10/17
Baghdad Post, "Counter terror forces storm Al-Aghawat
district in Mosul right bank," 3/10/17
- "Security forces liberate Bab Jadid district in central
Mosul," 3/10/17
Davison, John, “Islamic State mortars, snipers take toll on
Iraqi forces in Mosul,” Reuters, 3/10/17
Holdaway, Owen, “City Of Blood Inside the battle for Mosul
where Iraqi troop face ISIS suicide bombers and snipers in bloody battle to
liberate terror stronghold,” The Sun, 3/10/17
Mostafa, Mohamed, "Iraqi forces recapture more villages at
western Mosul town," Iraqi News, 3/10/17
- "Police: 25 IS militants killed in central Mosul
offensive," Iraqi News, 3/10/17
- “Refugees from western Mosul exceed 76.000 since
operations start: minister,” Iraqi News, 3/10/17
Salim, Mustafa and Morris, Loveday, “In Mosul, Iraqi forces
struggle to hang on to government compound days after retaking it,” Washington
Post, 3/10/17
UN High Commissioner for Refugees, “Iraq Situation: UNHCR
Flash Update – 9 March 2017,” 3/9/17
World Bulletin, "Iraqi forces take two more districts of
western Mosul," 3/10/17
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