Wednesday, January 18, 2017

Mosul Campaign Day 93, Jan 17, 2017


The Islamic State is in full collapse in east Mosul with 11 neighborhoods falling on January 17. The Golden Division freed all of them along with the Great Mosque, the Presidential Palace, and the Ninewa Hotel. In the north, the army took the Kindi military base. The entrances to all five bridges across the Tigris River were secured as well. There was still fighting in the Ghabat area. The mayor of Mosul Hussein al-Hajem said there were only 4-7 areas in east Mosul still under IS control. Iraqi officials are always given to exaggeration and have claimed that almost all of the Left Coast side of the city was taken. Those statements have finally been realized with roughly 90% of eastern Mosul occupied.

The press was full of other examples of IS faltering. The Golden Division claimed that the insurgents didn’t even put up a fight for the neighborhoods in northeast Mosul it took during the day. IS fighters were seen fleeing across the Tigris in boats taking civilians with them as human shields so that the ISF would not fire on them. In west Mosul the militants were forcing people to join as fighters, and taking family members as hostages to enforce its draft. The big question is whether this will carry over to the next phase in the battle.

After all of east Mosul is liberated there will likely be a pause to rearm and refit and then an assault will be made across the waterway into the western Right Bank. Preparations are already being made. 5 pontoon bridges arrived at the Qayara base south of Mosul to be used to cross the Tigris. U.S. advisers have also taken up positions in four areas of east Mosul. That will provide forward operating bases to further assist the Iraqi forces with air strikes, artillery and missile fire, intelligence collection, etc.

SOURCES

Adel, Loaa, "CTS liberates 2 more areas, storm Jazair neighborhood in eastern Mosul," Iraqi News, 1/17/17
- "CTS liberate areas of Suez and Sanharib, station near Choser River," Iraqi News, 1/17/17
- "Security forces recapture 3 districts, Great Mosque in central Mosul," Iraqi News, 1/17/17

AIN, “Urgent anti-terrorism commander: 48 hours separate us from completing our tasks in the left coast of Mosul,” 1/17/17

Buratha News, “Recent developments in the field in the process of liberating Mosul until 14:50 Tuesday 17 01 2017,” 1/17/17
- “Recent developments in the field in the process of liberating Mosul until 16:00 Tuesday 17 01 2017,” 1/17/17

Kalin, Stephen, “Iraqis who escaped Islamic State grapple with trauma,” Reuters, 1/17/17

Al Mada, “Saadi: We killed 387 Daash in Mosul within the last 74 hours and we will liberate the left coast soon,” 1/17/17
- Saadi: one neighborhood separates the counter terrorism forces from the complete liberation of left coast of Mosul,” 1/17/17

Mostafa, Mohamed, “Iraqi forces push into IS-held pocket in Mosul: military,” Iraqi News, 1/17/17
- “IS kill mother, child escaping eastern Mosul, force civilians to fight in west,” Iraqi News, 1/17/17
- “Only 4-7 districts left to recapture eastern Mosul, militants bodies litter Tigris,” Iraqi News, 1/17/17
- “U.S. forces erect 4 military bases in Mosul preparing for new combat plans,” Iraqi News, 1/17/17
- "Updated: Iraqi forces recapture 3 neighborhoods in eastern Mosul," Iraqi News, 1/17/17

New Sabah, "The joint forces on the verge of freeing the left coast of Mosul within days," 1/17/17

Reuters, "Iraqi Forces Push Into IS-held Pocket in Mosul," 1/17/17

Rudaw, "Iraqi forces control all five bridges in Mosul, ISIS 'nearly defeated' in east," 1/17/17

Xinhua, “Iraqi forces in near full control of IS stronghold in eastern Mosul,” 1/17/17


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