Mosul Campaign Day 193, Apr 27, 2017

There were no advances in west Mosul for a second day. Federal Police commander General Shakir Jawadat said that his forces were 300 meters from the Grand Mosque in the Old City, which was where Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared the caliphate in 2014. The police have been that distance from the mosque for more than a month now however. The Golden Division let it be known that there were only four districts left to be liberated in the city. That’s roughly forty percent of the western half. The police have been stalemated in the Old City for weeks now. The Golden Division on the other hand seized most of the center of the city. It is likely consolidating its latest move into the Tanak neighborhood, the largest in the west.

More civilian casualties were reported in Mosul. A Coalition air strike was blamed for 19 deaths, and Iraqi shelling for another fatality and three wounded. The Islamic State also fired mortars on the Rashidiya neighborhood in liberated northeast Mosul. Casualties were mentioned, but no figures given. Civilians have accounted for the vast majority of the casualties in the battle for the city.

Outside of Mosul to the west the Hashd freed one more village. The Hashd are moving towards the Syrian border because the government will not let them take Tal Afar. That has led to increasing frustration, so they were finally given a task to occupy them.

Civilians in west Mosul under IS control continue to suffer, while services are slowly being restored in the east. The Iraqi Observatory for Human Rights was the latest to note that people were starving in the parts of west Mosul still run by the insurgents. Residents were said to be eating herbs and plants, while others tried to scrounge for flour to mix with water. Hospitals that treat the displaced have observed growing malnutrition amongst their patients, especially young ones. In the west, the authorities were starting to get the water system up and running again. One of the main pumping stations in the east was finally working again. Power has also been turned on along some main streets. Many people are still relying upon untreated water from wells for example for drinking and cooking, and generators for their electricity. Returning services is a basic step to reviving the city.

SOURCES

Baghdad Post, "Mortar shells land on left bank of Mosul," 4/27/17

Bourke, Latika, “Foreign Islamic State fighters are ‘fighting to the death’ in Mosul,” Sydney Morning Herald, 4/27/17

Mostafa, Nehal, “Iraqi paramilitaries shut more Islamic State escape routes to Syria border,” Iraqi News, 4/27/17

- “IS members killed as troops approach toward Nuri mosque in Mosul’s Old City,” Iraqi News, 4/27/17

- "Paramilitary troops liberate cemetery, village in western Mosul," Iraqi News, 4/27/17

- "Twenty civilians killed, three wounded in two attacks by Iraqi troops, coalition: Activist," Iraqi News, 4/27/17

Niqash, “Power And Water And Music: Signs Of Life Returning To Mosul,” 4/27/17

Pestano, Andrew, “Iraq four neighborhoods away from fully capturing west Mosul,” UPI, 4/27/17

Shafaaq News, “This is what a quarter of a million civilians are eating in areas under IS control in Mosul to avoid famine,” 4/27/17