Mosul Campaign Day 56, Dec 11, 2016

On December 10 the Golden Division announced it freed one more neighborhood of east Mosul. That was a total of five for the day although half of those had been gone through already. On December 11 the Golden Division freed one new area and attacked another, which had been liberated before. The Iraqi forces are now far enough into the city that they were able to shell the western half for the first time. Some neighborhoods continue to switch hands but the Iraqi forces are still pushing forward almost every day.

In Hamam al-Alil south of Mosul the Federal Police captured Islamic State fighters dressed in police uniforms and driving Humvees. There were apparently trying to steal transformers to be brought back to Mosul for the city’s power network.

The U.S. Coalition knocked out the Old Bridge across the Tigris River in the center of Mosul. That means all five bridges that span the city have now been damaged or destroyed. The Americans are trying to limit the Islamic State’s ability to traverse the two sides of the city and cut off its supplies and evacuation from the east where all the fighting is to the west.

The Hashd were still busy around Tal Afar and clearing areas in the south. In the west the Hashd liberated 8 villages in the Tal Afar district. In a town to the south of Mosul the Hashd and security forces found 15 bodies in a well believed to have been executed by the militants.

SOURCES

Bas News, “Two More Neighborhoods Recaptured Eastern Mosul,” 12/11/16

Iraq Oil Report, “Inside Mosul, Dec. 11, 2016,” 12/11/16

- “Inside Mosul, Nov. 27, 2016,” 11/27/16

Al Maalomah, "Popular crowd frees six new villages west of Mosul and raising the Iraqi flag over them," 12/11/16

Mostafa, Mohamed, “15 decomposed bodies found in southern Mosul ell,” Iraqi News, 12/11/16

- “Coalition airstrikes demolish old Mosul bridge completely,” Iraqi News, 12/11/16

- "Iraqi forces storm into eastern Mosul's biggest district," Iraqi News, 12/11/16

- "UPDATED: Al-Hashd al-Shaabi recapture 2 western Mosul villages," Iraqi News, 12/11/16

Sotaliraq, "Freed Dawa district on left coast of Mosul," 12/11/16

Xinhua, "Iraqi forces gain more areas after heavy clashes with IS militants in Mosul," 12/11/16