With the southwest advance renewed by the Hashd new towns
were liberated. Three
new towns
were freed, and another attacked.
The Golden Division and army were still pushing into Mosul
itself and opened a new front as well. The Iraqi forces (ISF) not only attacked
two neighborhoods in the west, but hit Hadbaa in the north as well. One of
those areas, Bakr however, had been assaulted two times
before. Reaching the north is an important event in the campaign. The Golden
Division was the first to reach the outskirts of Mosul and decided to push in
alone initially. It paid a heavy toll without other units being able to support
it and protect its flanks and rear. Elements of the 9th Division
that were caught up in the southeast eventually shifted to the east to open
their own front. Now the north is being engaged. Other ISF units should be
reaching the south aiming at the Mosul airport soon. That will hopefully
stretch the Islamic State, which only has a few thousand fighters to defend the
whole city, to the breaking point eventually.
Finish analyst Petri Makela wrote an article
about the tactics IS is using in the fight. The militants built several rings
of defensive lines around Mosul. The outer towns had minimal defenses with
IEDs, car bombs, anti tank missiles, and snipers. When Mosul was reached the
Golden Division initially sent in columns of Humvees. They were funneled into specific
areas where IS set up ambushes. Armor units eventually came to support the
Golden Division, but they have been caught up in the same areas. As one soldier
told Reuters
his armored unit was not trained for urban warfare and the fighting was
overwhelming. With all the soldiers buttoned up inside their vehicles driving
down streets in columns they were easy targets for these kill zones and fast
moving suicide car bombs, which come at the units so quickly and in heavily
armored vehicles they cannot always be destroyed before they hit their target.
The Islamic State’s extensive tunnel works has also allowed it to re-infiltrate
areas, which is why ISF units are already going through neighborhoods multiple
times. Despite all that the Iraqi forces are making progress, just at a heavy
cost.
There were more executions within Mosul. 21 civilians were reportedly killed
over the last several days within the city on charges of collaborating with the
government. The Washington
Post also talked with a survivor of the killings in Hamam al-Alil south of
Mosul before it was liberated. The man talked about how IS took a group of
around 90 men, made the kneel down, and then shot them. Up to 100 bodies have
been found in the town in a mass grave.
SOURCES
Adel, Loaa, “200 tribal fighters control liberated areas
southeast of Mosul,” Iraqi News, 11/15/16
-
"Badr Organization liberates 2 villages in western axis of Nineveh,"
Iraqi News, 11/15/16
-
"Iraqi forces storm into 3 new neighborhoods in Mosul," Iraqi News,
11/15/16
Evans,
Dominic and Davison, John, "Islamic State kills civilians in Mosul to
deter support for army," Reuters, 11/15/16
Al
Forat, "People crowd frees village of Mareshah west of Mosul,"
11/15/16
Makela, Petri, “Tactical Lessons From Mosul – Infantry
Skills Matter,” The Medium, 11/15/16
Morris, Loveday, “’I thought, this is it: One man’s escape
from an Islamic State mass execution,” Washington Post, 11/15/16
Xinhua,
"Iraqi forces push slowly into Mosul to seize more districts,"
11/12/16
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