PM Abadi giving his victory speech in Mosul (Iraqi Prime
Minister’s Office)
The last areas held by the Islamic State in west Mosul were
finally cleared, allowing Iraq’s Prime Minister Haidar Abadi to declare victory
in the nine-month long campaign. At the start of the day, there were still a few
IS elements in the Shahwan
and Qalahat neighborhoods along the Tigris River. Three soldiers from the
Golden Division were killed in the fighting. That initially held
up the premier’s speech, but by the middle of the day Abadi appeared and
gave his address. He said
Mosul was a triumph against terrorism, darkness, and brutality, and marked the
collapse of IS’s state. The next challenge was stabilization and rebuilding. Before
that can happen the Iraqi forces (ISF) still need to mop up the Old City to
make sure no insurgents are hiding out in buildings, tunnels or amongst the
displaced. The U.S. led Coalition called this the heaviest urban combat since
the Battle of Stalingrad during World War II. Even though the war is not over
the Iraqis have much to be proud of, and they have been partying in the streets
for the last two days.
Al
Mada had an excellent article about how Abadi’s itinerary and address
worked out. At the end of July 8 ISF commanders were saying that the fighting
was over in Mosul, and everyone was getting ready to celebrate. That was why
Abadi arrived in Mosul on July 9 to declare victory. When he got there however
he was informed that IS was still resisting in the Old City. He was none too
pleased. The Coalition also advised him to not make his announcement yet. According
to the paper this was the fifth false call that the battle was over. Abadi ended
up doing a tour of ISF units and thanked them for their hard work. Finally,
after the last bits of resistance were put down Abadi gave his speech. The
different Iraqi units have been in a competition since the start of the Mosul
campaign in October 2016 to outdo each other on the battlefield. Each wants to
claim they have seized the most territory, and that they have killed more
militants. That was the cause of all the claims that Mosul was finished when it
wasn’t. These differences have been apparent in the press for quite some time.
There were more examples of this with the early death counts
for IS fighters. First, Ninewa Operations Command claimed
650 Islamic State members had been killed just on July 10. The Federal Police said that 1,000
IS elements had died in the Old City in total. Finally, a parliamentarian from
the security committee stated
that the militants lost 28,000 with another 4,000 arrested during the entire
campaign. These were all likely hyperbole. The Iraqis claimed IS only had 350-750
gunmen left when the Old City was assaulted. The U.S. led Coalition estimated
16,000 Islamic State elements in all of Syria and Iraq. The ISF always claims
IS only has a few men left, but then after the battle is over the figures dramatically
escalate. Again, this is due to the drive by ISF units to brag about how much
they have achieved, and add to the victory narrative promoted by Baghdad.
The insurgents are still active in Ninewa. The town of Imam
al-Gharbi southeast of Mosul remained under IS control. The Islamic State
launched an attack against the Iraqi forces during the day. Only around 150 IS
fighters were said to have seized the town on July 5, yet the ISF have not been
able to dislodge them since. From the village, the militants have been able to
threaten the Qayara base, which houses U.S. troops and is a major supply and transportation
hub in the province. The Iraqis have been very concerned about this, while
playing it down in the media at the same time.
With the battle over political disputes have started coming
to the fore. Moqtada al-Sadr demanded
that those responsible for the fall of Mosul in 2014 be held responsible. He
was referring to his political opponent Nouri al-Maliki that Sadr’s
parliamentarians (MPs) have targeted before for Mosul. Two MPs on the security
committee, including Sadrist Hakim Zamili
accused
Federal Police chief General Raed Shakir Jawadat of bad leadership that cost
the lives of his policemen, of only being concerned with media coverage, and
corruption. The Federal Police responded saying that Zamili was being partisan,
and that the general spent five months on the battlefield defeating the Islamic
State. More of these types of accusations are likely to be brought up in the coming
weeks and months. That’s especially true with elections coming up next year,
and politicians wanting to score political points.
There are still hundreds of thousands of people displaced
from the Mosul campaign. The United Nations had 4,800
coming out of the Old city from July 6-7. The International Organization for
Migration recorded
a total of 827,628 displaced (IDP) in Ninewa. At the same time, around 2,000
people were going back to the city per day according to the Displacement
Ministry. 9,000 people are trapped around Tal Afar as well. For an unknown
reason, they have not been able to move to IDP camps. The repatriation of all
these people will be another dilemma the province will have to deal with now
that Mosul is freed. Currently, people in camps are concerned about security in
the city slowing down the rate of return.
SOURCES
Baghdad Post, “Those
responsible for fall of Mosul should be called to account: Sadr,” 7/10/17
Bas News, “Iraqi
Forces Control 97% of West Mosul, 350 IS Militants Remaining,” 5/24/17
- “Over 1,000 IS
Militants Killed in Mosul’s Old City: Police,” 7/10/17
BBC, “Battle for
Mosul: Iraq PM Abadi formally declares victory,” 7/10/17
- “Battle for Mosul:
Iraqi troops clearing last IS militants,” 7/10/17
Bulos, Nabih, “Iraqi prime minister congratulates armed
forces on ‘great victory’ against Islamic State in Mosul,” Los Angeles Times,
7/9/17
Coles, Isabel,
“Iraq’s Abadi to declare Mosul victory, few pockets of resistance,” Reuters,
7/10/17
Collard, Rebecca, “What’s Next for Mosul After It Was
Liberated From ISIS,” Time, 7/10/17
Gamal-Gabriel, Tony
and Dunlop, W.G., “Iraqi PM hails victory over brutality and terrorism’ in
Mosul,” Agence France Presse, 7/10/17
International
Organization for Migration, “Displacement Tracking Matrix Emergency Tracking
Mosul Operations Data Snapshot: 09 July 2017,” 7/9/17
Iraq Newspaper, “Al
Iraq Reporter In Mosul: Pentagon Announces Daesh Loses Control And Call For
Thanks To Hashd,” 7/11/17
- “Iraqi Newspaper
Reporter In Mosul, Ninewa Provincial Council Reason For The Delay In Announcing
The Liberation Of Shahwan And Qahalat,” 7/10/17
Iraqi Broadcasting
Networks, “The Federal Police Respond To Zamili’s Remarks: Jawadat Has Been On
The Battlefield For 5 Months And Has Not Left The Field,” 7/10/17
Al Jazeera, “Abadi declares ‘total victory’ over ISIL in
Mosul,” 7/10/17
Kalin, Stephen, “Old
City bears the brunt of Islamic State’s last stand in Mosul,” Reuters, 7/10/17
Knights, Michael, “Mosul defeat a blow to IS, but not the
end,” BBC, 7/10/17
Al Mada, “False
field data postponed the declaration of liberation of Mosul 3 times,” 7/11/17
- “Joint operations:
Only 12 km of area under IS control in Mosul,” 5/17/17
Middle East Eye,
“Iraqi PM formally declares victory over Islamic State in Mosul,” 7/10/17
Mostafa, Mohamed,
“Iraqi command to target Tal Afar after Mosul, officials say 750 fighters
remain in city,” Iraqi News, 5/18/17
New Sabah, “The fighting in Mosul resulted in the deaths of
more than 28,000 Daesh and the arrest of 4,000 and the elimination of around
400 field commanders,” 7/10/17
NRT, “Explosions In
Mosul As Iraqi Forces Battle Last Few Militants,” 7/10/17
Prax, Melissa, “Mosul’s Next Battle: Rebuilding A Ruined
City,” Newsy, 7/10/17
Al Rafidain,
“Parliamentary Security And Defense: Federal Police Chief Caused Police Deaths
In Mosul,” 7/10/17
Rudaw, “PM Abadi declares Mosul liberated from ISIS in
victory speech,” 7/10/17
- “UN: 700,00 displaced Moslawis still can’t return home,”
7/10/17
Shafaaq News,
“Counterterrorism kills three suicide bombers in recent battles,” 7/10/17
Tayyar, “Ninewa We
Are Coming Killed 650 Daesh members on Monday,” 7/10/17
UN High Commissioner
for Refugees, “Iraq Situation: UNHCR Flash Update – 9 July 2017,” 7/9/17
Waradana, “American
pressure behind the failure to announce the victory statement,” 7/10/17
World Vision, “Long
road ahead for Mosul’s children after city re-taken from ISIL,” 7/10/17
No comments:
Post a Comment