Monday, June 19, 2017

Mosul Campaign Day 245 Jun 18 2017


Smoke rising from new assault upon Old City district West Mosul (Bas News)

The Iraqi forces (ISF) finally launched a multi-pronged assault upon the Old City district in west Mosul. The operation started at 6 am. Two brigades from the Golden Division moved into Farouq in the northwest, while the army’s 16th Division advanced from Bab al-Sinjar and Bab al-Lakash in the north. A Federal Police brigade attacked Bab al-Baid in the southwest. They claimed they broke through the first two lines of the Islamic State’s defenses, while the Golden Division said progress was slow due to the dense layout of the streets and houses and the large number of civilians. IS launched four counter attacks consisting of car bombs and suicide bombers, but were turned back. The Iraqis were struggling over the medical complex in Shifa as well. Leaflets were dropped over the city by the Iraqi air force telling people that the ISF was coming, while loudspeakers blasted messages that the insurgents should surrender, and civilians should flee towards the Iraqi forces. Shifa and the Old City are the last two sections of the city still under the militants’ control. The latter was originally attacked in March, and the ISF quickly bogged down, and became a holding force to tie down IS fighters, while others moved up the flank and eventually to the north as well. Shifa was targeted when the latest offensive started at the end of May and the Iraqi forces have been stuck in the medical center that consists of several hospitals. Both are now under attack meaning the Mosul campaign is finally coming to a conclusion.

A police brigade commander and four other officers were arrested in Mosul. The police were investigated for murdering a man and a woman who were suspected IS members. They were killed two months ago in east Mosul, and their bodies were discovered near Mosul University. There has been a spate of extra judicial killings in and around Mosul recently. This was a rare event as the Iraqi government rarely holds high ranking officers or officials responsible for their crimes. It’s yet to be seen how their court cases will go.

Mosul University recently re-opened and students were taking their end of year exams. Only parts of the campus are open, while others are destroyed or still being repaired. Re-starting classes was an important benchmark towards life in the city returning.

The Iraqi cabinet discussed restoring salaries to Ninewa’s public workers. The Finance Ministry is auditing the payrolls before money is distributed once again. Ninewa like the rest of Iraq’s provinces is dependent upon the government to drive its economy. The government is the largest employer. There are lots of civil employees back at work within Mosul like teachers, but none of them are getting paid. Again, this would be an important move towards restoring the governorate.

SOURCES

Agence France Presse, “Iraq: The battle for Mosul,” 6/18/17

Al Alam, “Anti-Terrorism forces begin to storm al-Farouq neighborhood in West Mosul,” 6/18/17
- “Witnesses…Violent battles against 800 Daesh in its stronghold in the start of bloody struggle,” 6/18/17

Arango, Tim, “Iraqi Forces Begin Assault on Mosul’s Old City,” New York Times, 6/18/17

Bas News, “40 IS Militants Killed During Push into Last IS-held District in Mosul,” 6/18/17
- “Continued incursions into the old town of Mosul by Iraqi forces,” 6/18/17

BBC, “Mosul battle: Iraqi forces attack IS-held Old City,” 6/18/17

Al Ghad Press, “500 thousand leaflets were issued to citizens in West Mosul,” 6/18/17
- “Jawadat: Our forces are deep into the old city by Bab al-Bayd,” 6/18/17
- “Saadi: We made 150 meters into the old city of Mosul,” 6/18/17

Hassan, Hamuda and Chmaytelli, Maher, “Iraqi forces storm Old City of Islamic State-held Mosul, U.S. reports progress,” Reuters, 6/18/17

Hughes, Trevor, “Battle for Mosul: Iraqi forces begin painstaking push into Old City,” USA Today, 6/18/17

Iraq News Network, “Council of Ministers decides to resolve the file of salaries of Mosul employees,” 6/18/17

Iraq Newspaper, “Iraqi Newspaper Reporter In Mosul Four Iraqi Units Storm Farouq Neighborhood Right Now And A Battle Over White Phosphorus,” 6/18/17
- “Iraqi Newspaper Reporter In Mosul Provides A Summary Of The Battles On Sunday Until 5:30 PM,” 6/18/17
- “Iraqi Newspaper Reporter In Mosul: The Second Brigade Counter Terrorism Forces Broke Into Al Farouq In One Of Three Axes,” 6/18/17
- “Iraqi Newspaper Reporter In Mosul: This Is What Has Not Been Liberated,” 6/18/17

Al Maalomah, “Federal Police chief announces the launch of liberation of Hadbaa Minaret,” 6/18/17

Morris, Loveday and Salim, Mustafa, “’They will fight to the death’: Iraqi forces start offensive to retake last area of Mosul held by militants,” Washington Post, 6/18/17

Mostafa, Mohamed, “Police take over facility in Mosul’s Old City, kill senior IS leader,” Iraqi News, 6/18/17

Mostafa, Nehal, “Iraqi forces say started storming Islamic State-held Mosul Old City,” Iraqi News, 6/18/17

New Sabah, “Joint operations announce the start of decisive battle to clear what remains in West Mosul,” 6/18/17

Al Noor News, “The start of the storming of the Old City in central Mosul,” 6/18/17

Rahal, Layal Abou, “Mosul students return for exams amid devastation,” Agence France Presse, 6/18/17

Rojkan, Mira, “Iraqi Federal Police Recaptures Major Facilities in West Mosul’s Old City,” Bas News, 6/18/17

Rudaw, “UPDATED: Iraqi army enters Old Mosul district from two sides,” 6/18/17

Shafaaq News, “Arrest of a commander for the murder of two people in Mosul,” 6/18/17
- “URGENT Iraqi forces storm old city in Mosul,” 6/18/17

Al Sumaria, “The federal police announced breaking first and second lines of defense in Old Mosul,” 6/18/17
- “Interior Ministry: The storming of Old City is decisive battle for the last remnants of Daesh,” 6/18/17

Watan News, “Start of operation to free Hadbaa,” 6/18/17

Xinhua, “Decisive battles heat up as Iraqi forces swoop on last IS stronghold in Mosul,” 6/18/17


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