Soldiers and civilians in Rashidiya the last liberated
district of east Mosul (Shafaaq News)
100 days into the Mosul campaign and east Mosul was finally
liberated. At sunrise the 9th Division and Rapid Reaction forces
seized all of Rashidiya
and Shreikhan. The 9th and 15th Divisions also took Bawiza,
Baisan, Haditha,
Jurf al-Milih and the Ninewa diary plant all in the northeast. Prime Minister
Haidar Abadi then announced
that half of Mosul was recaptured. The initial attack upon the city did not go
well. The campaign plan stalled with forces in the north and south never
reaching the city as they were supposed to. The premier ordered the Golden
Division to enter the city on its own without any supporting units. When other
forces did arrive they were acting unilaterally, and there was a famous ambush
of the 9th Division in the southeast. Operations were halted in
December, and then restarted at the end of the month, with Iraqi forces (ISF)
cooperating with each other, and greater support from the U.S. coalition. That
included knocking out all the bridges across the Tigris that cuts through the
middle of the city, which severely limited the ability of the Islamic State to
resupply its fighters. This new effort was able to quickly pierce the Islamic
State’s defenses and seize the entire western section of Mosul in under a
month.
The ISF are now set on attacking west Mosul as soon as
possible. All the talk is about a head on assault across the Tigris River using
pontoon bridges supplied by the United States. Some forces may be shifted to
the south where they could cross the river freely without having to worry about
the Islamic State. Then again, Iraqi commanders keep talking
about IS as being a defeated force, so perhaps they are thinking that once they
get through the initial defense on the riverbank the insurgents will quickly
crumble as they have in the last few weeks.
In another twist, General Abdul Amir Rasheed Yarallah said
that the Hashd would take part in the second half of the offensive. Reportedly
this will be the Al Abbas Division, which follows Grand Ayatollah Ali
al-Sistani. A Shabak Hashd brigade has already entered Mosul to clear and hold
ground in the east. Originally Premier Abadi said that the Hashd would not be
allowed inside Mosul. He wanted the ISF to take the city so that the population
would see the government as their liberators, and also because many people from
Mosul said they feared Hashd abuses. The deployment of these Hashd forces
likely means that there is a manpower shortage as some units will have to
secure the east, while others move on the west. Without the Hashd they could
not accomplish both of these missions.
As east Mosul fell there were more signs of the Islamic
State’s defeat. The U.S. said it destroyed 10 IS
boats taking fighters across the Tigris. The group publicly executed 25 of its
fighters for retreating to make an example out of them. To the west in Tal
Afar IS was reportedly evacuating its headquarters and destroying its
records so that they would not be captured. The main question remains does this
mean that the militants will not put up much of fight in the rest of Mosul or
will they go down fighting as their last stand? The Iraqis are counting on the
former, while the Americans are warning of the latter.
The U.N.’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
held a press
briefing about its concerns for the civilian population in Mosul. In the
east, IS continued to kill and shell civilians in liberated areas. IEDs left
behind and mortar fire has killed civilians in at least five districts
recently. It is also attacking people attempting to flee its control. Coalition
and Iraqi air strikes are also taking a toll on the population. Airwars for example
counted 64 dead and 10 wounded by U.S. led air attacks during the third week of
January. Since the inhabitants mostly stayed in the city the human toll of the
fighting has been very high compared to previous battles such as Tikrit and
Ramadi when there were hardly any civilians. They will continue to suffer
casualties as a result.
Several news agencies and outlets all reported on school
being re-opened in Mosul. A total of 70 schools are up and running again, with
approximately 40,000 students. Parents talked about how the Islamic State
taught children about war, and how girls were banned
from even going. One parent lamented
that this was a lost two years for his child as he should have been in the 3rd
grade, but was still in the 1st. Offering education again is an
important step in rebuilding life within Mosul. It is also a sign that the
government is trying to restore its services, and that it will not discriminate
against the residents for living under the insurgents.
SOURCES
Adel, Loaa, “Islamic State evacuates headquarters in Tal
Afar, burns its archives,” Iraqi News, 1/24/17
Agence France Presse, “Children head back to school in east
Mosul: UN,” 1/24/17
- “UN warns west Mosul civilians at ‘extreme risk,’” 1/24/17
Bas News, “IS Militants Fleeing Through North Bank of Tigris
River: Pentagon Official,” 1/24/17
BBC,
"Mosul battle: Children return to schools in recaptured east,"
1/24/17
Fache, Wilson with Mojon, Jean-Marc, “Iraq clears east
Mosul, amid fears for civilians in west,” Agence France Presse, 1/24/17
Gupta, Glrish, “Bomb classes and gun counts: trauma of Mosul
children under Islamic State,” Reuters, 1/24/17
International Organization for Migration, “IOM Iraq
Situation Report: Mosul Response Update #14,” 1/18/17
Al Maalomah, “Daesh bombed houses in Mosul and the Federal
Police rescued the injured,” 1/24/17
- “Daesh executed 25 of its fighters after withdrawing from
Mosul battle,” 1/24/17
Al Mada, “Joint Forces commander confirms the participation
of the popular crowd in free right bank of Mosul,” 1/24/17
-
"Killing and wounding three children by Daesh explosion north east
Mosul," 1/24/17
Mostafa,
Mohamed, "14 killed in eastern Mosul shelling, forces continue clearing
last IS pockets," Iraqi News, 1/24/17
- “Iraqi forces preparing offensive on western Mosul,
commander says,” Iraqi News, 1/24/17
New Sabah, “Joint forces waiting for the Commander in Chief
of the Armed Forces to order the storming of the right bank of Mosul,” 1/24/17
Rudaw, “Schools, shops, roadworks – normal life returning to
east Mosul,” 1/24/17
Salim, Mustafa and Morris, Loveday, “Eastern side of Mosul
recaptured from Islamic State, Iraqi prime minister says,” Washington Post,
1/24/17
UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, “Press
briefing notes on Mosul & Kyrgyzstan, 24 January 2017,” 1/24/17
Xinhua,
"Iraqi PM declares full liberation of eastern side of Mosul," 1/25/17
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