Bulge in middle of map represent recent gains by Golden
Division in center of west Mosul. Green at top is where 9th Division
seized entrances to northwest section of city. Iraqi police still fighting over
Old City on right in grey. Green = liberated, white = IS control, blue = Tigris
River (Ninewa Media Center)
The Iraqi police were still attempting to seize the Grand
Mosque in the Old City district of west Mosul. They were fighting in the Farouq
neighborhood of the district. At the same time, the Islamic State counterattacked
and forced them out of the Kornish Street area. The police spent the day
attempting to drive off the insurgents. The Iraqi police only recently
restarted their effort in the Old City after a month long pause. Their progress
has still been extremely slow due to the tough defenses of the Islamic State
and the dense layout, which has reduced most of the fighting to house to house,
room to room.
The Golden Division was still pushing into the center of the
city. It was fighting
in Tank and Thawra, which have been contested since the end of March.
A Ninewa councilman claimed
that the Iraqi forces (ISF) controlled 75% of west Mosul. Iraqi officials are
always using different metrics for these types of statements. Sometimes they
count districts, other times its area, and sometimes they just make up numbers
as part of propaganda. From government maps it looks like roughly 60% of the
western section of the city is in government hands.
The Iraqi air force dropped leaflets
over west Mosul again. The flyers told civilians to protect themselves during
the siege of the city. The ISF has done this several times before, usually
before a major operation begins.
A report by
Iraq Observatory for Human Rights noted that the Islamic State is using food to
control the population of west Mosul. Many people are starving in the city due
to sever shortages caused by the ISF’s encirclement, which cut off the
militants’ supply lines. IS is offering food to recruit people and to get them
to follow its orders. The severe conditions is shown by the fact that many of
the displaced coming out of the city are suffering from malnutrition,
especially children.
The Ninewa Operations Command reported
another chemical attack by the insurgents in west Mosul. Mortar shells filled
with agents hit the recently freed Abar neighborhood for the second time on
Sunday.
There is still scattered resistance to IS inside the areas
under its control in the city. A group attacked
an insurgent prison, killed three guards, and released 7 detainees. Opposition
groups have carried out off and on attacks upon the militants for months now,
but don’t appear to be a real threat to them.
Finally, 50 civilians were reportedly
killed and 51 wounded by airstrikes across western Mosul. The Iraqi forces said
they would be more careful in their strikes in the city after the Jadida
incident killed over 200 people. Many times people are hiding in basements to
escape the fighting or IS is using people as human shields. All the ISF see are
the insurgent fighters however and call artillery, mortars or air support often
resulting in civilian casualties.
SOURCES
Baghdad
Post, "50 Iraqis killed, 51 injured in Mosul airstrikes," 4/17/17
- “Iraqi forces cautiously advance in Old Mosul,” 4/17/17
- “Leaflets dropped over Mosul warning locals of continued
offensive,” 4/17/17
Chernov, Mstyslav and Dana, Felipe, “Patrolling western
Mosul a weary grind for Iraqi police,” Associated Press, 4/16/17
Al Jazeera, “Iraqi forces gain ground in Mosul door-to-door
fighting,” 4/17/17
Laessing, Ulf and Chmaytelli, Maher, “Iraqi forces fight
door-to-door in Mosul as battles enters seventh month,” Reuters, 4/17/17
Mostafa, Mohamed, “Detained IS dissidents set free in
mysterious attack west of Mosul,” Iraqi News, 4/17/17
- “Iraqi forces control 75% of western Mosul: municipal
official,” Iraqi News, 4/17/17
- "Police: 60 Islamic State members, including senior member,
killed in western Mosul," Iraqi News, 4/17/17
NINA, “Nineveh operations confirm the use of /Daesh/ to
shells carrying chemicals in the right coast of Mosul,” 4/16/17
Rudaw, “Iraqi forces withdraw form strategic street in west
Mosul after ISIS attack,” 4/17/17
- “ISIS using food to control starving population of west
Mosul, report,” 4/17/17
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs,
“Nearly half a million civilians have fled Mosul since fighting began six
months ago; hundreds of thousands more may flee in the weeks to come,” 4/17/17
World
Bulletin, "2 Iraqi soldiers killed in Mosul clashes," 4/17/17
World Health Organization, “WHO Special Situation Report –
Mosul Crisis, Iraq – Issue NO 14: 09 -15 April 2017,” 4/17/17
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