Movement in west Mosul was slow for the day. The Federal
Police freed a church
in Bab al-Baid, one of the entrances to the Old City district, and were still
working their way through Farouq. There
was heavy fighting
in Bab al-Lakash, Sargakhana, and a few others areas of the district as well.
Shifa, which is north of the Old City along the Tigris River was declared freed
two times before, but the Rapid Reaction Division is still struggling to clear some
buildings there in the medical complex. Overall, the Iraq authorities are hoping
to declare the city freed by Eid, which is only a few days away. That’s
probably being overly optimistic as there is still a lot of hard fighting
ahead.
The Islamic State carried out a number of attacks throughout
Mosul. A suicide
bomber was hiding amongst people fleeing in west Mosul and killed 12 and
wounded 20. Three
other suicide bombers set off their devices inside Muthanna market
in the Nabi
Younis neighborhood in the east side of the city leaving 15 fatalities and 30
injured. A fifth suicide bomber was killed in the
Sumer district. IS mortar fire also hit a market in Jadida
in the west with 10 dead and 40 wounded. The bombings were a warning to the
security forces that infiltrations and sleeper cells are still active in the
city. There are several different security forces operating in Mosul, and the
National Intelligence Service is specifically tasked with hunting down IS
elements. The problem is that there is little to no cooperation between them,
and those gaps can be exploited by the insurgents.
People continue to flee the fighting in west Mosul. The
United Nations counted
a total of 432,726 displaced (IDPs). From June 14-21 around 20,000 came out of
the Old City district. 12,000 of them went directly to east Mosul via a pontoon
bridge. Aid groups said many of the people were injured and overwhelmed the
medical teams in the east side of the city. While the numbers have not been as
large as many groups warned about they have been overwhelming for the
government and relief groups. There has been a struggle to accommodate and care
for all of them.
SOURCES
Agence France Presse, "Suicide bomber kills 12, injures
20 in Mosul," 6/23/17
Baghdad Post, “Iraq
FPC says recaptured ISIS-held church in Mosul,” 6/23/17
Bas News, "39 killed and wounded by two simultaneous
suicide attacks on a popular market in Mosul," 6/23/17
Buratha News, “Rapid
Response Division encircles Republican Hospital in Mosul,” 6/23/17
Chmaytelli, Maher,
“Iraqi forces battle towards heart of Mosul’s Old City,” Reuters, 6/23/17
Al Ghad Press, "Security forces kill suicide bomber in
Sumer district in Mosul," 6/23/17
Iraq Newspaper, "Iraqi Newspaper Reporter In Mosul:
Daash Terrorists Attack Iraqi Forces In Al-Muthti District On Left Coast,"
6/24/17
- “Iraqi Newspaper
Reporter In Mosul: Very Fierce Battles In Bab Lakash and Bab Beid,” 6/23/17
Al Mayadeen, "Al-Mayadeen correspondent: A second
suicide bombing targeting civilians in market in Prophet Younis within the left
bank of Mosul," 6/23/17
- “Al-Mayadeen
reporter: Federal police elite commando forces liberate Chamoun Church in Bab
El-Beid,” 6/23/17
Mostafa, Mohamed, “50 civilian casualties in Mosul shelling,
200 rescued,” Iraqi News, 6/23/17
Al Noorn News, "Medical source: killing and wounding 50
civilians when a shell landed on a market in al-Jadida Mosul," 6/23/17
Shafaaq News, “Iraqi forces are crawling towards the heart
of ancient Mosul,” 6/23/17
- “Iraqi forces move in depth into the south and west of old
city Mosul,” 6/23/17
UN High Commissioner
for Refugees, “Iraq Situation UNHCR Flash Update – 22 June 2017,” 6/22/17
Waradana, “Fierce
battles fought by the Federal Police in Bab al-Baid,” 6/23/17
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