Mosul Campaign Day 169, Apr 3, 2017

Most of the fighting has been in the western section of the front (red circle) by the Golden Division. Green = liberated. Red = frontline. White = Islamic State control (Iraqi Day)

There has been no real advances in the Old City along the Tigris River in west Mosul for several weeks now as can be seen by comparing these two maps from March 27 vs April 3, 2017. Green = liberated. Red  = frontline. Gold = Islamic State control (Iraqi Day)

After a couple slow days the Iraqi forces (ISF) announced some new advances. The Yarmouk and Nahrawan neighborhoods were freed in the west and there was fighting in Matahen and Aghawat. The Golden Division has moved up into the center and western section of west Mosul, while the Federal Police and Rapid Reaction Division were still concerned with the Old City district. The police were opening up routes for civilians to leave that area to try to clear the battlefield before launching a new operation there. As usual, bad weather has been holding up air support, and in turn the Iraqi ground forces.

Civilians remain the largest victim of the fighting. Islamic State shelling of four neighborhoods in liberated east Mosul took the lives of 32 people. It also fired mortars into the town of Badush that it recently lost to the ISF west of Mosul killing 32. The bodies of 81 civilians killed in the previous battles were also discovered. An Iraqi air strike and shelling left 6 dead and 3 injured. IS executed another 21 attempting to escape its control. 

Parliamentarian Alia Nassif accused the ISF of releasing IS members captured in Mosul. She claimed that bribes were allowing the insurgents to escape. Corruption is rampant within the ISF, especially the police, so such stories are easy to believe, and has happened in other parts of Iraq that were freed from the militants.

SOURCES

Adel, Loaa, “Federal Police opens safe havens to evacuate civilians from old Mosul,” Iraqi News, 4/3/17

Baghdad Post, "Civilians killed; mass grave found in Mosul," 4/3/17

BBC, “Mosul from the sky: Evidence of IS using human shields,” 4/3/17

Cockburn, Patrick, “What life is like for Isis’s 400,000 ‘human shields’ in west Mosul,” Independent, 4/3/17

Doyle, Damian Dunning, Tristan, “The tragedy of Mosul: battle against Islamic State is leading to all-too-familiar consequences,” The Conversation 4/3/17

Iraq Oil Report, “Inside Mosul: April 3, 2017,” 4/3/17

Laessing, Ulf, “Death around corner for civilians living on Mosul’s frontline,” Reuters, 4/3/17

Mostafa, Mohamed, "32 civilians killed in IS shelling north, east of Mosul: officer," Iraqi News, 4/3/17

- "Four PMU fighters killed in clashes with IS west of Mosul," Iraqi News, 4/3/17

- "IS deploys women snipers, fights harder in remaining western Mosul districts," Iraqi News, 4/3/17

- “Parliamentarian says Iraqi soldiers release IS militants in Mosul in return for money,” Iraqi News, 4/3/17

Musafa, Nehal, "40 IS fighters killed, strategic regions liberated in western Mosul: Federal Police," Iraqi News, 4/3/17

- "Islamic State kills Imam of mosque in western Mosul," Iraqi News, 4/3/17

Shafaaq News, "The corpses of 22 civilians arrive at al-Qayara hospital," 4/3/17

- “For the first time in the battle of Mosul .. Evacuation of the entire population of the Old City,” 4/3/17