Mosul Campaign Day 136, Mar 1, 2017

March 1 was another day of consolidation and hard fighting in southern Mosul. An apartment complex in Mamun was freed by the Golden Division after the district was declared liberated on February 23 and 26. That same unit was still trying to secure Wadi Hajar, Mansour and Shuhada. Wadi Hajar was unofficially said to be cleared yesterday. The Iraqi engineers completed the pontoon bridge across the Tigris in southern Mosul. The Islamic State also carried out a surprise attack on Hawi al-Josaq. Its fighters had shaved their beards and were dressed in army uniforms catching the Iraqi forces (ISF) by surprise. The Iraqi forces (ISF) have only entered the southern tip of the city, but as the reports show the districts they are in remain hotly contested.

Mosul Campaign Day 135, Feb 28, 2017

The Iraqi Forces (ISF) were mostly consolidating their hold on the areas they took in west Mosul, while two more advances were announced, but not corroborated officially. First, on February 27 a large attack by the Islamic State was turned back at the Ghazlani Base that was freed on February 24. Apparently not all of the camp had been taken either as the Federal Police cleared a Mosque there. On February 28 Iraqi officers claimed Wadi Hajar and Dawas were liberated. Those have not been made official yet however. Otherwise the ISF were going through Hawi al-Josaq and Mamun looking for IEDs and any left behind IS fighters. Engineers started work on constructing a pontoon bridge across the Tigris River where the Fourth Bridge used to stand before the U.S. Coalition bombed it. The bridge is suppose to allow more forces to flow into west Mosul as well as supplies.

Mosul Campaign Day 134, Feb 27, 2017

Iraqi forces are fighting over the Mosul neighborhoods just north of the Ghazlani Camp and Mosul Airport

The Iraqi forces continued to fight over south Mosul. Hawl al-Josaq north of the Mosul Airport and Tal Ruman on the northwest perimeter of the city were declared freed by the police forces and the 9^th Division respectively. Those two neighborhoods were said to have been liberated on February 24. Dandan next to Hawl al-Josaq along the Tigris River was still contested after the Iraqi Forces (ISF) said they took it on February 25. After capturing Mosul Airport the Federal Police and Rapid Reaction Division have moved up the bank of the Tigris to secure the western side of the Fourth Bridge. This is where the ISF plan on building a pontoon bridge across the river. That’s being done by the 310^th Engineering Company. It’s common to have the ISF say a place has been taken multiple times. Sometimes this is propaganda, sometimes its because a unit has moved through an area calling it freed, but then follow up forces have to actually check to make sure all the Islamic State fighters have been rooted out. Other times there is re-infiltration.

Violence In Iraq Feb 15-21, 2017

Violence remained high in Iraq as the Mosul campaign continued. There were a total of 145 security incidents reported in the press. Ninewa obviously had the most with 75, followed by 42 in Baghdad, 7 in Diyala, 6 in Salahaddin, 5 in Anbar, 4 in Kirkuk, 3 in Basra, 2 in Kurdistan, and 1 in an unknown location.

Those led to 381 dead and 505 wounded. Ninewa suffered 195 killed, Baghdad had 111, Kurdistan 42, Kirkuk 11, Salahaddin 9, Anbar and Diyala 5 each, 2 in an unknown location, and 1in Basra.

Mosul Campaign Day 133, Feb 26, 2017

Some new areas inside and out of south Mosul were freed. On February 25 the Rapid Reaction Division said it liberated Danadan, which is north of the Mosul Airport and along the Tigris River. On February 26, the Federal Police secured the Harakiyat Ibrahimiya area, which the 9^th Division had originally gone through on February 19. The Rapid Reaction and Golden Divisions also took Tayaran and Mamun respectively that are to the west of the Ghazlani camp. The Iraqi forces (ISF) then moved into the Mansour, Shuhada, and Dawas neighborhoods. The ISF were also attempting to secure the area around the Fourth Bridge so that a pontoon bridge can be constructed there across the Tigris River.

Musings On Iraq In The News

 

I was quoted in “Iraqi Kurdistan fears Maliki returning to power” by Paul Iddon in Al Araby. I did an interview with Radio Sputnik World Service from Moscow on the Trump administration's Iraq policy. I was cited in "Bataille de Mossoul: 4 Semaines de Preparation Intensive Avant L'Assaut Sur L'Ouest De La Ville Declenche Dimanche" by France Soir.

Mosul Campaign Day 132, Feb 25, 2017

(Medecins Sans Frontieres)

As the Iraqi forces (ISF) moved into south Mosul itself their advance slowed down. In the rural villages in the lead up to Mosul there was not much resistance, but now that the city has been reached IS is fighting back with its usual mix of mortars, snipers, drones, and car bombs. General Abdul Wahab al-Saadi of the Golden Division said that movement was very slow.