Mosul Campaign Day 228 Jun 1 2017

There were more problems with the optimistic timeline laid out by the Iraqi forces on their planned progress in the Mosul battle. June 1 was when the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) were supposed to have feed Zinjali, Shifa and Saha, which are the neighborhoods north of the Old City district along the Tigris River. There was fighting in all three of those areas, but no reported advances. The ISF are always saying they are trying to protect civilians, but the reality of battle is something else. Residents in Old Mosul said there were streets and yards full of dead bodies from artillery and air strikes. The Islamic State continued to target people attempting to flee as well. Twelve people were reportedly killed and 23 wounded by IS fire trying to escape, and the group executed another 8. Residents of the city have suffered huge casualties during the fighting from all sides. The government’s decision to tell people to stay in the city proved a major mistake, and IS using human shields and targeting civilians all played a role.

In the liberated section of Mosul the army, police and national intelligence agency conducted a series of sweeps looking for IS members. That resulted in several arrests. There are still fears of sleeper cells and infiltration, plus insurgents that simply melted away into the population to hide from prosecution.

The Hashd resumed offensive operations in west Mosul. Yesterday they were stopped by an IS counter attack. June 1 they freed one town, assaulted another, and were heading towards a border crossing. During the day there was a report that Hashd units had crossed into Syria and seized two villages. That was later denied. Many Hashd officials have been talking about moving into Syria if the government permitted them. A lot of the units are already engaged in the battle fighting for the Assad government. While the desire is there to formally move into Syria they have said they would not do so without government approval.

Deputy Hashd commander Abu Muhandis told the media that after the Iraq-Syrian border was liberated it would be turned over to the border police. There has been much talk of Pro-Iranian Hashd groups wanting to get to the area so that they could assist Tehran in moving men and materials from Iran across Iraq and into Syria to help the Assad regime. Muhandis’ comments were likely aimed at countering that narrative.

The Hashd’s presence in Sinjar continued to bring criticism from the Kurds. The Chief of Staff of the Peshmerga Ministry Jabar Yawar said that the offensive in west Ninewa should not be politicized by the Hashd. He called on Baghdad and the Kurdistan region to let Yazidis of the district to decide the future of their areas. The Hashd have made great fanfare from freeing several Yazidi villages and having two militia units join its ranks. This is a great worry to the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) that is struggling to regain control of Sinjar after it abandoned it in 2014 to the Islamic State.

ABC News reported that the United States is still working with the Rapid Reaction Division (RRD) after Der Spiegel, ABC and the Toronto Star had stories on their abuse during the Ninewa campaign. The unit was blacklisted in March 2015 for human rights violations, but today the American military is praising its work in the Mosul campaign. The Interior Ministry has launched an investigation into the matter, and the unit in the articles was withdrawn from the front. In reality, nothing is likely to happen just like all the other committees that have been formed over the years into similar stories. Torture and abuse is institutionalized within the ISF, and the authorities only give lip service to doing something about it. The same is true for the U.S. that needs the ISF to fight the war against the Islamic State.

There is a constant ebb and flow of people in and out of Mosul. From May 28 to June 1 there was a dip and then a surge. On May 28 there were 378,186 registered displaced (IDPs). That went down to 377,952 on May 30, but then back up to 378,120. There are always people moving in and out of the city. In the last two weeks there was a huge amount of civilians fleeing, but now that heavy fighting has restarted that figure has gone down considerably. Aid groups are afraid there could be another huge outflow before the battle concludes.

SOURCES

Ahmed, Hunar, “Iraqi forces target hospital rumored to hold 400 ISIS hostages,” Rudaw, 6/1/17

Baghdad Post, “Mass grave discovered in Mosul’s right bank,” 6/1/17

Bas News, “Federal officer: resumed progress in Zanjili and incursion into Shifa in West Mosul,” 6/1/17

Huson, Eva, “The Battle to Unearth Iraq’s Mass Graves,” Foreign Policy, 6/1/17

International Organization For Migration, “Displacement Tracking Matrix Emergency Tracking Factsheet #31 – Mosul Operations From 17 October To 1 June,” 6/1/17

- “Displacement Tracking Matrix Emergency Tracking Mosul Operations Data Snapshot: 1 June 2017,” 6/1/17

Iraq Oil Report, “Inside Mosul: June 1, 2017,” 6/1/17

Al Jazeera, “US-led coalition probes civilian casualty allegations,” 6/1/17

Al Maalomah, "Eight young men executed in Zanjili in central Mosul," 6/1/17

- “Security forces conduct security sweeps in Mosul,” 6/1/17

Meek, James Gordon, Newmani, Haider, Ross, Brian, and Schwartz, Rhonda, “US ignores evidence of atrocities by blacklisted Iraqi military unit,” ABC News, 5/31/17

Mostafa, Mohamed, “Coalition: Islamic State controlling less than 10 sq kilometers in Mosul,” Iraqi News, 6/1/17

- “Police commandos besiege IS in old Mosul’s Zanjili, kill 12 militants,” Iraqi News, 6/1/17

- “Updated: sources: 5 civilians, including child, sniped by IS while fleeing Mosul enclave,” Iraqi News, 6/1/17

Mostafa, Nehal, “Paramilitary leader says IS front defense line stormed, border crossing freed,” Iraqi News, 6/1/17

- “PMUs liberate village evacuate 300 families, south of Baaj,” Iraqi News, 6/1/17

NRT, “Peshmerga Chief Of Staff Warns Against Politicizing Sinjar Offensive,” 6/1/17

Al Rafidain, “The Popular Crowd Incursion Into Syria And Controls Two Villages East Of Hasaka,” 6/1/17

Rasheed, Ahmed, "Dozens of fleeing civilians killed, wounded by Islamic State mortar fire in Mosul," Reuters, 6//17

Saadoun, Mustafa, “Tehran, Washington set for proxy clash on Syrian-Iraqi border,” Al Monitor, 6/1/17

Shafaaq News, "5 civilians killed while Iraqi forces control 40% of Zanjili," 6/1/17

- “A spokesman denies the entry of the popular crowd forces into Syrian territory,” 6/1/17

Sotaliraq, “The killing and wounding of dozens in Mosul as a result of Islamic State mortar shells,” 6/1/17

Al Sumaria, “Abu Muhandis: We will hand over the borders to the police after they are completely liberated,” 6/1/17