Students cleaning up Mosul University campus building in
east Mosul (Los Angeles Times)
The ninth month of the Mosul campaign saw another day of
advances. First, the Rapid Reaction Division freed Shifa
north of the Old City district along the Tigris River for the fifth time. The
Iraqi forces (ISF) entered the neighborhood at the end of May and immediately
got caught up in the medical complex. Iraqi propaganda obscured exactly what
happened but either the hospitals were constantly changing hands or the Iraqis
never cleared them completely until now. The Ibn Sina Hospital for example was
taken on May
28 and then again on July 1.
Inside the Old City more areas were seized. The Federal
Police took the western end of the Iron Bridge across
the Tigris, along with Bab
al-Jadid and Suq al-Arbea in the south. There was also fighting in Maidan,
Rabia,
Bab al-Bakr, Shahwan, Khatoon, Ras Khor, Imam Ibrahim, Qaliat, Sargkhana,
Qataniyan, Suq al-Sagha, and Bab al-Lakash that was liberated yesterday. Taking
the bridge was the result of the newest thrust in the district down from Shifa
south along the Tigris River. The army, police and Golden Division are also pushing
down the middle of the Old City, and the northern and southern perimeters to
divide and entrap the insurgents.
The Iraqi campaign is being supported by the U.S. led
Coalition. The Associated
Press followed a unit from the 82nd Airborne Division that were
operating inside Mosul. One of their jobs is to help coordinate the different
ISF units that are working in the city under different commands, and make sure
there are no friendly fire incidents. They are also calling in air strikes.
Part of the Trump administration’s new policy is to forward deploy U.S.
advisers along the front, and cut the steps necessary to authorize bombing by
Coalition planes. Other members of the international alliance such as the
British, French, Australians are also said to be working in Mosul.
The Iraqi civil defense forces that are responsible for
clearing rubble and digging up trapped civilians discovered an Islamic
State plot to destroy the Zinjali neighborhood in west Mosul. A series of IEDs
and explosive belts all apparently strung together were found in the area. It
was believed the insurgents were planning on detonating them after civilians
began returning. Luckily, they were dismantled.
Rebuilding Mosul continues. Students are volunteering to try
to clear and rebuild Mosul University. The Los
Angeles Times talked with a teenage girl who was in high school in 2014 who
wanted to go to Mosul University when she graduated to become an architect, but
that was put on hold when IS took over. Now she is helping at the campus and
hopes to enroll there. Some parts of the school are untouched, some are
completely destroyed. Classes have already started for a small group of
students, and the president of the university hopes for more progress soon.
The Islamic State’s takeover in 2014 destroyed the
province’s Christian community. Almost all of them fled
to places like Irbil, Baghdad or foreign countries. Now the question is whether
they will come back. In May, Ninewa’s governor created a committee to try to
stop the confiscation of Christian homes and help get them back into the hands
of their owners. In June, there was an initiative in Mosul to clean up churches
and monasteries to try to encourage Christians to return. Some priests are
asking people to go back as well. The problem is many people fear for their safety,
and don't trust Sunni Arabs seeing them as IS sympathizers. The Chaldean
patriarch in Baghdad for example said that his community were concerned about
security, while the Chaldean Archbishop in Irbil said many would rather stay in
Kurdistan. A few people have returned to towns in the Ninewa plains, but it is
yet to be seen whether more will follow suit. This is just the latest example
of the damage the Islamic State has done to Iraqi society. Ninewa was one of
the most diverse parts of the country, and now there is deep seated hatred and
mistrust between the different groups that will last into the foreseeable
future.
SOURCES
Abdul-Zahra, Qassim, "Officers: IS snipers,
suicide bombers slow advance in Mosul," Associated Press, 5/28/17
Associated Press, “Thousands of Mosul civilians trapped in
Isis territory as Iraqi forces close in,” 6/30/17
Baghdad Post, “Iraqi
forces kill 100 ISIS terrorists in two days in Mosul,” 7/1/17
- “Iraqi forces
launch hunt for ISIS remnants in Mosul,” 7/1/17
Bassem, Wassim, “As
Mosul battle nears end, Iraqi Christians wary of return,” Al Monitor, 6/30/17
Dana, Felipe,
“Hundreds flee Mosul as Iraqi forces squeeze extremists,” Associated Press, 6/30/17
Duparcq, Emmanuel,
“Gunfire cuts short celebrations at recaptured Mosul mosque,” Agence France
Presse, 6/30/17
George, Susannah,
“As Mosul’s battlefield shrinks, US warns of friendly fire,” Associated Press,
7/1/17
Al Ghad Press, “By the map .. the last meters of the old
Mosul,” 7/1/17
Iraq
Newspaper, "Iraqi Newspaper Reporter: The Death Of A Leader In The Sadrist
Movement Sword Of Kanani In The Battles Of Samarra," 7/1/17
- “Iraq Reporter In Mosul: Lt. Col. Haydar Al-Kanani Was
Killed In Mosul,” 7/1/17
- “Iraqi Newspaper Reporter In Mosul: Now C130 US Aircraft
Bomb Right Bank,” 7/2/17
- “Iraqi Newspaper Reporter In Mosul: The Third Brigade,
Quick Response Division Announced On Twitter That He Will Launch Attack At Dawn
At 5 AM,” 7/2/17
Kalin, Stephen,
“Mosul mosque where Islamic State took world stage lies in rubble,” Reuters,
7/1/17
Al Maalomah, “Dozens of people were arrested in Mosul,”
7/1/17
- “In pictures:
foiled trap to blow up the entire Zinjali area in Mosul,” 7/1/17
Mostafa, Nehal, “Iraqi
troops retake more districts in Mosul’s Old City,” Iraqi News, 7/1/17
Murdock, Heather,
“As Mosul Battle Ends, Iraq Forces Brace for Future,” Voice of America, 7/1/17
Rojkan, Mira,
“Several District in Mosul’s Old City Yet to Be Liberated,” Bas News, 7/1/17
Smith, Saphora, “War
on ISIS: U.S.-Backed Iraqi Forces Squeeze Fighters in Mosul’s Old City,” NBC,
7/1/17
El Watan News,
“Iraqi federal police control the iron bridge in central Mosul,” 7/1/17
Yam, Marcus,
“Building by booby-trapped building, students work to reclaim Mosul
University,” Los Angeles Times, 6/30/17
Yudong, Wei,
“Feature: Iraqi troops battle IS militants in Mosul at cost of blood,” Xinhua,
7/1/17
Xinhua, “Iraqi forces recapture bridge amid advance to clear
western Mosul from IS militants,” 7/1/17
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