National Security Service arrest an IS suspect in east Mosul
(Telegraph)
The Iraqi forces (ISF) were back on the offensive in Mosul
despite the bad weather that has slowed progress lately. The Bab al-Tob
neighborhood was officially declared cleared
for the second time. The first time was on March 15,
but then the next
day there was bombing going on. The Federal Police and Rapid Reaction
Division also said they had taken the Arbiaa, Kur,
and Tawafa, and attacked Bab al-Saray, all of which are in the Old City along
the Tigris River. The immediate goal is to seize the Grand
Mosque. Heavy rain has limited air support. The Old City is densely laid
out with narrow streets, which has reduced much of the fighting to house-to-house
battles. Finally, the Islamic State is putting up a sturdy defense. These have
all contributed to the slow going in recent days.
There are continued reports of the insurgents using chemical
weapons (CW) in Mosul. The latest came from Iraqi News
that said some type of gas was used in mortar shells in west Mosul. If this was
a CW attack it appeared to be chlorine gas, which IS has used in the past as is
much easier to produce than the more deadly agents.
The fighting in west Mosul has been far more costly to the
civilian population then the east. The Islamic State is still using human
shields, the government told people to stay in their homes during the fighting,
and the dense housing, especially in the Old City are all contributing factors.
As a result special rescue
teams have been created to look for the dead and wounded.
The displacement crisis building south of Mosul continued.
The camps south of the city are full, yet the Iraqi forces continue to direct
people there. This is despite the fact that there are over 20,000 spots in
Kurdistan. The United Nations reported
that 70% of the displaced in Hamam al-Alil the main screening area people are
sent to are now living outside camps. That means they are probably squatting or
staying out in the elements. This is a humanitarian disaster developing in real
time. The ISF are trying to alleviate the problem by preparing to allow people
to go on to Baghdad. The U.N. is also desperately trying to construct new
camps. Still, this appears to be a huge mismanagement going on by the
authorities as these new arrivals could be bused to Kurdistan where there is
still shelter available.
The Telegraph
had an interesting article following around the National Security Service (NSS)
as it conducted raids in east Mosul looking for IS members. The agency receives
hundreds of tips, mostly from city residents and arrests on average 30-35
people per week. They are then turned over to the Interior Ministry, which
decides what will happen to them. Many IS members melted away into the
population when the east was taken either to continue their work for the group
or to simply escape justice. The NSS is therefore doing an important job to
secure the city and reassure the populace that the militants are being hunted
down. At the same time there was an incident several weeks ago where the Golden
Division stopped the NSS from conducting a search accusing it of sectarian
behavior. That confrontation led to a shootout between the two and several NSS
members were arrested as well. That highlights that while the NSS’s activities
are necessary, they have to be done without bias so that the goodwill the
security forces and government has won from liberating the city will not be
lost.
Finally, new casualty figures are available for the Mosul
campaign. Based upon daily reviews of over 40 media sources, mostly Iraqi ones
8,106 fatalities and 23,155 injured have been counted. The vast majority of
those are civilians with 6,753 dead and 17,578 wounded. Because Baghdad is
censoring its losses, there is limited access to west Mosul, and hardly anyone
is covering east Mosul anymore even though the U.N. has repeatedly reported
that in the north there is constant IS shelling, these numbers should be
considered a minimum.
Mosul Campaign
Casualties 10/17/16-3/14/17
Killed: 8,106
6,753 Civilians
Wounded: 23,155
17,578 Civilians
3,475 executed by the Islamic State
774 Killed, 721 Wounded by Coalition Air Strikes
SOURCES
Adel, Loaa, “Federal Police: Our troops are 600 meters away
from Nuri Mosque,” Iraqi News, 3/18/17
-
"IS uses toxic gases to shell civilians in liberated areas of Mosul,"
Iraqi News, 3/18/17
- “Security forces discover IS prison in central Mosul,”
Iraqi News, 3/18/17
Agence France Presse, “Iraq forces near Mosul mosque where
IS declared ‘caliphate,’” 3/18/17
Baghdad Post, "30 civilians killed, scores injured in random
shelling on western Mosul," 3/18/17
Boumzar, Abdelaziz, “Thousands flee Iraq’s Mosul as battle
edges into Old City,” Reuters, 3/18/17
Ensor, Josie, “’Here the enemy is hiding among you’: Iraqi
troops root out Isil collaborators in Mosul,” The Telegraph, 3/18/17
Al Forat, “Military Commander: We are moving cautiously in
Mosul to save civilian lives,” 3/18/17
- “Rescue teams search for the injured and retrieve the
bodies of the martyrs in the rubble in Nineveh,” 3/18/17
Iraq Oil Report, “Inside Mosul: March 18, 2017,” 3/18/17
Al Jazeera, "Iraqi forces retake two key areas in west
Mosul," 3/18/17
New Sabah, “The joint forces liberated Pasha mosque and two
markets in West Mosul, killing 37 Daesh,” 3/18/17
Rudaw, “Army: Civilians caught in crossfire slow down troops
in Mosul,” 3/18/17
- “Mosul residents flee the city with dead bodies of loved
ones,” 3/18/17
- "UPDATES: Smoke from explosion fills the skies of western
Mosul," 3/16/17
UN High Commissioner for Refugees, “Iraq Situation: UNHCR
Flash Update – 17 March 2017,” 3/17/17
World Bulletin, “Death carts carry family ripped apart by
Mosul campaign,” 3/18/17
Xinhua, "Iraqi forces continue fighting IS militants in city
center of western Mosul," 3/16/17
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