Mosul Campaign Day Thirty-Two, Nov 17, 2016

The Golden Division announced it freed five neighborhoods in eastern Mosul. Tahrir and Aden however had been cleared once before, and Khadra three times. That unit along with elements of the 16^th Division attacked four other areas of the city, but again one of them, Palestine was declared freed before. There was also mopping up operations in Gogjali, which was the first place entered by the Golden Division in the east.

In the south the Federal Police and Hashd were moving forward. The Federal Police took five towns in the southeast. One of those, Hamza, had been freed twice already. In the southwest the Hashd and Federal Police liberated one village.

The Associated Press reported that there were cloudy skies over Mosul limiting air strikes during the day.

The Canadian Special Forces admitted to taking part in combat in northern Iraq. Their commanding General Michael Rouleau said there had been three incidents over the last month when the Canadians fired anti-tank missiles to destroy incoming Islamic State suicide car bombs while working with the Peshmerga. Canadians have been spotted on the front lines during the Mosul operation with the Kurds providing close support although officially they are supposed to just be trainers.

There was more news on the Islamic State’s crimes. An ARA News story had 32 people executed by the group within Mosul. Human Rights Watch (HRW) also investigated the mass grave discovered in Hamam al-Alil south of Mosul on November 7. Originally, the site was thought to have 100 bodies in it, but HRW thought it might have up to 300. HRW talked with witnesses who said that hundreds of families from up to eight villages were herded into Hamam al-Alil by IS fighters. Then starting on October 28, IS began taking away former police offices who were then killed at the Agricultural College just outside of town.

Finally, Vice President Osama Nujafi told reporters he supported a referendum on the disputed areas in Ninewa, which the Kurds claim after the province had been liberated from the insurgents. He also backed making Ninewa a federal region. His brother ex-Ninewa Governor Atheel Nujafi has made similar comments. They are both aligned with the Kurds, hence their willingness to see parts of the governorate annexed by Kurdistan.

SOURCES

Abdul-Zahra, Qassim, "IS attacks in Mosul as poor visibility slows Iraqi advance," Associated Press, 11/17/16

Adel, Loaa, "Joint forces continue liberating 6 areas in western coast of Mosul," Iraqi News, 11/17/16

ARA News, "Islamic State executes civilians charged with apostasy and espionage," 11/17/16

Bas News, "Iraqi Forces Retake Two More Neighborhoods East of Mosul," 11/17/16

- "A Kurdish Journalist Hit by IS Sniper in Mosul," 11/17/16

BBC, "Mosul Iraq battle: Bad weather slows advance inside city," 11/17/16

eKurd, “Canadian military trainers involved in frequent clashes in Iraq: officials,” 11/17/16

- “Iraqi Kurdistan News in brief – November 17, 2016,” 11/17/16

Al Forat, "Al Forat Announces incursion into five neighborhoods on Mosul's left coast, and continued clearing of Tal Afar Airport," 11/17/16

- "Popular crowd frees the village of Abra, near Tal Afar Airport," 11/17/16

Human Rights Watch, “Iraq: Hundreds of Police in ISIS Mass Grave,” 11/16/16

Iraq Oil Report, "Inside Mosul: Nov. 5, 2016," 11/5/16

- "Inside Mosul: Nov. 12, 2016," 11/12/16

- "Inside Mosul: Nov. 13, 2016," 11/13/16

- "Inside Mosul, Nov. 17, 2016," 11/17/16

Iraqi News, "Federal Police forces liberate 2 villages north of Shura," 10/27/16

Al Mada, "Detonation of two Daesh car bombs and drop a drone near Tal Afar airport," 11/17/16

Al Mada, "16 Division explodes two car bombs north of Mosul," 11/17/16

Rudaw, "LIVE UPDATES MOSUL OFFENSIVE: DAY 13," 10/29/16

Xinhua, "Iraqi forces clear areas freed from IS in eastern Mosul," 11/9/16

- "Iraqi forces free more districts in eastern Mosul," 11/4/16