The Golden Division freed the Tanak neighborhood located on
the far left. The police are still fighting over the Old City on the far right
along the Tigris River. Green = liberated, White = IS control, Blue = Tigris
River. (Ninewa Media Center)
There was a large advance in the western section of west
Mosul, and very limited movement in the east. The Golden Division freed Tanak, which it fought over for almost a month.
It is one of the largest neighborhoods in the city and is along the western
edge. In the east the police inched ahead. It was still attacking the Old City along four axes and was said to have
seized some streets in Bab al-Tob and Bab al-Jadid. The
police recently restarted their operations in the district after a month long
pause, but have only advanced a few meters.
To the west of the city the Hashd and the army’s 15th
Division launched a new operation towards the Syrian border. They seized 12 villages on the first day. The Islamic State
is only lightly defending this area, so the Iraqis should be able to seize a
large amount of territory in a short period of time.
Inside Mosul, the insurgents were attempting to maintain
their control over the population. IS fighters dressed as police went into Old
City and killed an unknown number of civilians that
greeted them. It was unclear whether this was a trick to root out people it
considered traitors or whether the militants wanted to blame this on the
government forces. The group was also said to be rounding up civilians in two areas for unknown
reasons. They could be planning on using them as human shields, which they have
done since the Mosul campaign started in October 2016.
IRIN did an investigative report finding that the
Iraqi forces were executing captured Islamic State fighters. It recorded
various incidents where IS suspects were captured, interrogated and then shot.
Sometimes the bodies were strung up as warnings against others. Sometimes they
were just dumped on the street or in ditches. It is a violation of the rules of
war to execute prisoners, but no one has any sympathy for the Islamic State, so
nothing will be done.
USA Today talked with U.S. Air Force Colonel John
Dorrian who told it that the insurgents’ use of drones had dramatically fallen
off. In February there were an average of 10-15 drones per day in Mosul. Now
that was down to just 1-2. The Americans have provided jamming devices to the
Iraqi forces, but otherwise they are usually just shot at. No reason was given
for the dramatic decline, so it could be due to the counter measures or it
could be simply that IS ran out of its supply.
New Sabah and the Baghdad Post talked about the difficult task of
rebuilding Mosul. New Sabah talked with a community activist that outlined the
problems east Mosul is facing. First, there is fear of IS sleeper cells. There
is no information on how many are still around, and residents are trying to
provide intelligence to the security forces to round them up. Second, the
government is the biggest employer in the city, yet its workers are not being
paid. They have to go through an extensive vetting process that takes too long.
There were several reports for example about dozens of schools re-opening in
the city, but none of the teachers or administrators have received salaries.
Without any money coming in there is no way to revive the economy. There are
stories of people selling their belongings to try to raise money to buy things.
Most of the time people are buying on credit. Third there are robberies and
looting going on in residential areas. Several gangs have been arrested, but
the security forces and government officials have also been implicated. People
are stripping copper wire as well to sell. Fourth, basic services like water
and electricity have to be restored. As of now people rely on generators for
power and aid groups and the government are trucking in bottled water. Fifth,
some areas of the east have extensive war damage that needs to be rebuilt. This
will be an even bigger problem in the west that has seen far more destruction.
Sixth, the insurgents are constantly shelling the sections of the city along
the Tigris River. Finally, the Baghdad Post talked with non-government
organizations that complained about corruption and malpractice undermining aid
and the rebuilding effort. NGOs have said that government medical teams meant
to help the displaced are not providing any assistance. The Human Rights
Observatory accused the Migration Ministry, members of the Ninewa council, and
local officials in Hamam al-Alil, the main screening center for the displaced
of corruption. That likely means they are stealing money and supplies, and
exploiting contracts meant to help the people coming out of Mosul. Putting the
city and Ninewa in general back together will be an enormous task for the
government. Most of what’s being done now is by local government workers and
the general public. Besides large projects like running displacement camps, the
provincial and central authorities are not doing much. Part of that is because
Mosul is still a war zone. A bigger issue however is that the Iraqi government
doesn't have any money for reconstruction with low oil prices and the cost of
the war, and also suffers from a lack of capacity and massive corruption. That
makes any large project like this all the more difficult to accomplish.
SOURCES
Aboulenein, Ahmed, “Iraqi forces using siege and stealth to
evict Islamic State from Mosul,” Reuters, 4/25/17
Adel, Loaa, "Katai'b Sayyid
al-Shuhada cuts off IS supply line between al-Baa'j and al-Hadher," Iraqi
News, 4/25/17
Associated Press, "Iraqi
troops capture largest neighborhood in western Mosul," 4/25/17
Baghdad Post, “Displaced civilians caught between
irresponsible NGOs , gov’t,” 4/25/17
- “IMIS starts offensive to take parts in southern Mosul
from ISIS,” 4/25/17
- “ISIS abducts civilians in several locations in right bank
of Mosul,” 4/25/17
- "Security forces liberate 5
villages in Mosul," 4/25/17,
Casares, Andres Martinez and Laessing, Ulf, “A walk through
western Mosul,” Reuters, 4/25/17
Iraq Oil Report, “Inside Mosul: April 25, 2017,” 4/25/17
IRIN, “Captive IS fighters face extrajudicial killings on
fringes of Mosul conflict,” 4/25/17
Michaels, Jim, “Iraqi forces now attacking ISIS militants with
drones in Mosul,” USA Today, 4/25/17
Mostafa, Mohamed, “Military media: IS militants, dressed as
police, killed cheering civilians in Mosul,” Iraqi News, 4/25/17
New Sabah, “Four files hinder the return of normal life to
East Mosul,” 4/25/17
Robinson, A.C., “Delivering aid to liberated part of Mosul
that still feels under besiege,” Rudaw, 4/25/17
Shafaaq News, “Warning of violent clashes taking place in
the vicinity of the Old City of Mosul,” 4/25/17
Al Sumaria, "Al-Harbi Media
announces the liberation of 12 villages in the Hadar district south of
Mosul," 4/25/17
Xinhua, “Iraqi troops recapture new neighborhood from IS in
western Mosul,” 4/25/17
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