There were more incidents in Mosul and surrounding areas of
Ninewa province. Islamic State members were arrested
attempting to smuggle weapons into west Mosul. A senior insurgent leader who
allegedly was in charge of operations in east Mosul along with several other militants
were also detained.
A policeman in Tanak in the west was shot and killed.
In an outer village, an IED wounded a civilian, and three people were killed
and one injured in a shooting incident in the Tal Afar district. The liberation
of Mosul didn’t mean the end of the Islamic State. Its units are scattered, but
still making attempts every day in the governorate.
Preparations were underway for the Tal Afar campaign. A
Hashd officer told
the press that six different units would take part including Badr, the Al Abbas
Division, the Imam Ali Brigade, Kataib Hezbollah and others. Hashd spokesman
Ahmed al-Asadi claimed
90% of its forces would be involved. Police and army units were still moving
towards the district as well. Finally, a Hashd commander reported that IS was
rounding up people and forcing them into the middle of Tal Afar to use them as
human shields. This operation is supposed to start any time. It appears that
forces are still moving into place however. IS swept up families from the
district around a month ago and forced them into Tal Afar itself. In Mosul
civilians were mostly used by the insurgents to cover their retreats rather
than their fighting positions. That’s likely to be repeated this time.
The pro-Iran factions of the Hashd continued their
anti-American remarks. Hashim al-Moussawi claimed the United States evacuated
Islamic State leaders from Tal Afar. Kataib Hezbollah said they would keep
its guns aimed at the Americans during the battle because they were helping the
militants. Every week Tehran’s allies make similar statements. This constant
flow of propaganda is aimed at taking advantage of the conspiratorial minds of
many Iraqis and the widespread belief that Washington is behind IS.
SOURCES
AIN, “Video .. The
arrival of military forces to the outskirts of Tal Afar,” 8/14/17
Anadolu Post, “6
Shia militia groups take part in Tal Afar offensive,” 8/14/17
Baghdad Post,
“Security forces foil ISIS attempt to smuggle arms into Mosul,” 8/14/17
Bas News, “Iraqi
Forces Arrest Senior IS Commander in Mosul,” 8/14/17
Buratha News,
“Popular crowd leader: terrorists began using human shields in Tal Afar,”
8/14/17
Al Maalomah, “Kataib
Hezbollah: We will not let the Americans run away with Iraq and our weapons
will be directed against them,” 8/14/17
Mostafa, Nehal, "Three persons, including
policeman, killed, injured in Mosul," Iraqi News, 8/14/17
Al Rafidain, “Hashd:
90% Of Our Formations Will Take Part In The Battle Of Tal Afar West Of Mosul,”
8/14/17
Wardana, “Popular
crowd: American forces have evacuated the leaders of Daesh from Tal Afar,”
8/13/17
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