Battle landscapes in west Mosul (Reuters)
Things are still going slow in trying to capture the Old
City district in west Mosul. The Golden Division, coming form the southwest took
the Resala and Nablus neighborhoods officially. Some streets
were liberated as well, which is a perfect example of how things are
progressing.
During the fighting on March 20, a police colonel and 8
officers were captured
and killed by the Islamic State. Reportedly they were in a firefight and ran
out of ammunition, and were taken by the insurgents. Their bodies were later found.
There are still scattered reports of IS using chemical
attacks in Mosul. On March
20 45 people from five neighborhoods were brought in chocking from what
they claimed were mortar shells full of gas. None of these incidents has ever
been confirmed, but if they were they were likely chlorine as the insurgents
have used that agent several times before.
According to Shafaaq News local officials and members of the
Iraqi security forces (ISF) were looting
in Mosul. Officials were said to have taken several tons of wheat, while
soldiers were carting off generators. There were some similar reports of stealing
from homes in the city before.
The 9th Division and Hashd were still fighting in
the Badush district west of Mosul. A residential
complex, and three towns
were freed.
They are now 15
kilometers away from the Mosul.
Asaib Ahl Al-Haq spokesman Jawad Talabawi was again talking about taking
the town of Tal Afar by the Syrian border. He told the press preliminary
operations would begin soon and include the Hashd and army. Who will actually
take the town is still up in the air between the Hashd and ISF. That issue is
unlikely to be resolved until after Mosul is taken no matter what any
spokesperson wants to claim.
The displacement crisis south of Mosul continued to get
worse. The United
Nations had up to 5,000 per day going through the screening checkpoints in
Hamam al-Alil. The problem is the camps in that area have had no room for
several days now. The U.N. even opened a new one, but it was immediately
filled. Now people are setting up tents around Hamam al-Alil or moving to east
Mosul. The irony is that there is still space available in Kurdistan, but the
authorities are not taking many people there. The government originally told
people to stay inside Mosul because it could not take care of them if they
left. The intense fighting, heavy civilian casualties, and severe shortages are
all forcing people to leave in huge numbers and leading to this dilemma.
SOURCES
Adel, Loaa, "Al-Hashd al-Shaabi liberates residential complex
near Badush Plant, Mosul," Iraqi News, 3/20/17
-
"Joint forces liberate several areas in western Mosul," Iraqi News,
3/21/17
Agence France Presse, “Iraq forces push into Old Mosul as
thousands trapped,” 3/20/17
- “Iraq says more than 180,000 displaced from west Mosul,”
3/20/17
Baghdad
Post, "Schoolmaster, his family killed in terrorist attacks in
Mosul," 3/20/17
BBC, “Mosul battle: 180,000 civilians flee as Iraqi troops
advance,” 3/20/17
D’Agata, Charlie, “ISIS battles U.S.-backed troops to
vicious standoff in Mosul,” CBS News, 3/21/17
Davison, John and Markey, Patrick, “Iraqis pouring out of
Mosul find no place at crowded camps,” Reuters, 3/20/17
Al
Forat, "Popular crowd frustrates two Daesh car bombs in Badush,"
3/20/17
Hoke, Zlatica, “Iraqi Troops Enter Area Around Mosul’s
Symbolic Mosque,” Voice of America, 3/20/17
Iraq Oil Report, “Inside Mosul: March 20, 2017,” 3/20/17
Al Maalomah, “Commander popular crowd likely to launch
pre-liberation operations in Tal Afar within days,” 3/21/17
-
"Daesh criminals kill a woman and her daughter, west Mosul," 3/20/17
Al Mada, “70% of IDPs returned to Left bank of Mosul and
shelters people from the west side,” 3/21/17
Markey, Patrick, “Iraqi forces try to bring civilians out of
west Mosul, U.S. pledges more support,” Reuters, 3/21/17
Markey,
Patrick and Davison, John, "Fight on for Mosul as car bomb kills 23,"
Reuters, 3/20/17
- “IS force young men to fight in defense of Mosul –
refugees,” 3/20/17
Mostafa, Mohamed, "Defense media says Iraqi forces recaptured
two districts in western Mosul," Iraqi News, 3/21/17
- “Iraqi forces apparently relying on inside rebels to fight
IS in western Mosul,” Iraqi News, 3/20/17
-
"Iraqi forces control more facilities in central Mosul, 3 bombers
killed," Iraqi News, 3/21/17
- "PMUs advance towards Mosul from western gate," Iraqi
News, 3/21/17
- “Police forces resume push towards IS “caliphate” mosque
in western Mosul,” Iraqi News, 3/20/17
- “Scores of civilians hide under rubble as western Mosul
battles heighten,” Iraqi News, 3/20/17
NINA,
"-Daesh Targeting Civilians By Projectiles Carry Toxic Gases In
Mosul," 3/20/17
Shafaaq
News, "An entire family of six killed by Daesh shelling, southwest
Mosul," 3/21/17
- "Popular crowd announces grabbing village from Daesh west
of Mosul," 3/20/17
-
"This is what happened in Mosul in the last 24 hours," 3/21/17
- “Two sources: Officials and soldiers steal wheat and
generators worth billions of dinars in Mosul,” 3/21/17
Stoffel, Derek, “On the front lines in Mosul, Canadian
medical charity treating the wounded,” CBC, 3/20/17
UN High Commissioner for Refugees, “Iraq Situation: UNHCR
Flash Update – 19 March 2017,” 3/19/17
World Health Organization, “WHO Special Situation report –
Mosul Crisis, Iraq – Issue No 10: 12 to 18 March 2017,” 3/18/17
Xinhua, “Iraqi forces gain more areas in fight against IS
militants in west Mosul,” 3/20/17
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