Federal Police celebrating in
west Mosul (Sky News)
The news of the day was whether Mosul was finally liberated
or not. The Joint Operations Command got things underway by saying that the city was free,
but then added that there were small pockets of resistance. That last caveat
was missed by most leading the command to issue a clarification that there were
still a few meters of the city under Islamic State control. It then added that a
victory announcement was imminent and that fighting would be over in a few
hours. Units of the Iraqi forces (ISF) were seen celebrating in
the streets. In fact, at the start of the day there were still three contested neighborhoods, Maidan,
Qalahat and Shahwan that were under attack by the Golden Division and the
army’s 9th Division. By nighttime
the Islamic State was reduced to small pockets, but were holding a number of
civilian captives. It was predicted that by July 9 those would be wrapped up.
Prime Minister Haidar Abadi already flew
into the Qayara base northeast of Mosul, and was expected to give a victory
speech. The campaign took nine long months. It witnessed some of the toughest
urban fighting seen in years. While the war against the Islamic State is far
from over, this will be a huge symbolic and political victory for the Iraqi
government. Three years ago, IS declared its caliphate in Mosul, and now the
Iraqi forces are standing over the rubble of its state.
There was still some heavy fighting going on. IS launched an
attack upon
Badush northwest of Mosul. More importantly, the militants still held the town
of Imam
al-Gharbi in the Qayara district, and were threatening
the base there, which the premier flew into. IS seized the village on July 5,
and have successfully fended off counter attacks by the Iraqi forces since
then. It appears to be a more serious situation than the Iraqis are letting on.
With combat winding down the issues of governance and
rebuilding are more pressing issues. Unfortunately, Baghdad has little to
offer. The Abadi government was supposed
to form a committee with the Kurdistan Regional Government and the U.S. led
Coalition to plan for rebuilding Mosul, but it never happened. Sunni and
Kurdish leaders in Ninewa also complained that the prime minister never
responded to their calls to talk about the future political situation in the
province. That was actually understandable, because any agreement on governance
could have been broken by creating facts on the ground during the campaign. Not
coming up with a reconstruction strategy however was pure negligence. Given
past campaigns in places like Fallujah and Ramadi it was expected that there
would be considerable damage that would need to be fixed. The Planning Ministry
is working on a $100 billion, 10 year plan, but that is for the entire country.
The fact that Iraq doesn’t have the money to pay for it, and is hoping
international donors and the World Bank will fund it may make it mostly
aspirational.
Life goes on in Ninewa with ups and downs. In east
Mosul life seems to be almost back to normal. Shops are open, kids are
going to school, business is not booming, but things are moving. That contrasts
to the west where there are no services, and things are much more of a
struggle. People were still optimistic about the future despite the problems.
Meanwhile, displaced
in camps are trying to decide when and if they will return to the city. One man
fled west Mosul, went back for a short time, and then left again. He said there
was no work and no stability in the city. After he came back IS launched a
large attack in his neighborhood. He told Reuters he thought the camp was safer
than Mosul. Another man said he wanted to return, but he had no money to do so,
especially with rent rising due to demand. A woman talked about how she felt
Mosul was unstable and insecure, and she did not want to go back as a result. These
are all part of the successes and struggles people are going through in the
aftermath of the Mosul campaign. There is a huge amount of resiliency shown, as
well as some fears about what the future may bring.
SOURCES
Ahmad, Rezan,
“Security forces hunt down fugitives fleeing the old Mosul across the Tigris,”
Bas News, 7/8/17
Associated Press, “Iraq says forces are ‘tens of meters’
from retaking Mosul,” 7/8/17
Baghdad Post, “Nineveh officials: Iraqi forces currently
control Od City of Mosul,” 7/8/17
Bas News, “Victory
Over IS in Mosul to Be Announced in Next Few Hours: Official,” 7/8/17
BBC, “Battle for Mosul: IS defeat imminent, says state TV,” 7/8/17
Cahill, Petra, “In Battle Against ISIS in Syria and Iraq,
Civilians Suffer Most,” NBC News, 7/8/17
Cetti-Robert, Matt,
“’We Have Had Three Years of Our Lives Destroyed,’” War Is Boring, 7/8/17
Coles, Isabel, “With
Mosul victory at hand, displaced residents ponder uncertain future,” Reuters, 7/8/17
Al Forat, “The
security forces have been attacked by Daash south of Mosul,” 7/8/17
- “URGENT The reason
why the victory statement was not announced tonight,” 7/8/17
Iraq Newspaper,
“Iraq Newspaper Reporter In Mosul: Abadi Arrives At Qayara Base To Announce
Victory Tomorrow,” 7/8/17
- “Iraqi Newspaper
Reporter In Mosul: Terrorist Declaring Pledge To Die In The field In The Right
Bank,” 7/8/17
Iraqi Media Network,
“The joint operations issue an explanation of the situation in old Mosul and
confirm the existence of a few meters to be freed,” 7/8/17
- “Nineveh
Operations announces the liberation of Dakkat Barka in old Mosul,” 7/8/17
- “This is what
remains before the announcement of final victory in Mosul,” 7/817
Kalin, Stephen and
Chmaytelli, Maher, “Iraqi army says Mosul victory imminent, Islamic State vows
‘fight until death,’” Reuters, 7/8/17
Al Mada, “The battle
of Mosul is coming to an end with the arrival of troops to the last bastions of
Daesh,” 7/8/17
- “Besieging Daash
forces that infiltrated village in south Qayara,” 7/8/17
Mostafa, Mohamed, “UPDATED: Government forces take over
Mosul’s Old City,” Iraqi News, 7/8/17
Nakhoul, Samia, “As
Mosul battle ends, struggle over Iraq’s future intensifies,” Reuters, 7/7/17
New Sabah,
“Liberation of the old city of Mosul with the arrival of the joint forces to
the Tigris River,” 7/8/17
Rudaw, “Iraqi Federal Police declare mission accomplished in Old
Mosul,” 7/8/17
Shafaaq News, “America: 250 m left to liberate Mosul,” 7/8/17
-“In figures, these meters separate the liberation of all of
Mosul,” 7/8/17
Sky News, “Islamic State militants pledge to ‘fight to the death’ in
Mosul,” 7/8/17
Sly, Liz, “These
mind-blowing photos from Mosul reveal the horror of the Islamic State war,”
Washington Post, 7/8/17
Xinhua, “Iraqi
forces corner remaining IS militants in small pocket in Mosul’s Old City,”
7/8/17
- “Iraqi forces kill
35 IS militants fleeing Mosul’s Old City,” 7/8/17
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