Kuwaiti Girl
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Iraq's war against IS terrorism | Updates and Discussions
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Kuwaiti Girl
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Serpentine
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Just to have a glimpse of daily battles Iraqi CT forces (true heroes) are conducting against ISIS terrorists in Mosul. Fallujah of 2004 for American forces just looks like a walk in the park compared to this. Kudos to this brave soldiers. They are beating ISIS in Mosul slowly, but constantly.
Hindustani78
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US armored vehicle in bartella , 19 miles from Mosul Iraq
Hindustani78
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http://aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/7-iraqi-troops-killed-by-mosul-car-bomb-army-officer/720203
Seven Iraqi soldiers were killed Wednesday in a suicide car-bomb attack by Daesh terrorists in the northern city of Mosul, according to an Iraqi army officer.
"A Daesh suicide bomber drove an explosive-laden car into a concentration of Iraqi soldiers as they advanced into Mosul’s southwestern Al-Wahda neighborhood," Army Colonel Ahmed al-Jabouri told Anadolu Agency.
"The bomber was killed along with seven soldiers," he added.
In a related development the same day, Major-General Abdel Wahab al-Saadi of Iraq’s anti-terrorism agency told Anadolu Agency that Iraqi forces had managed to "liberate" 43 districts of western Mosul since the campaign to recapture the city began last October.
He went on to stress that a wide-ranging operation was still underway aimed at purging all districts of western Mosul of terrorist elements.
The Iraqi military, backed by U.S.-led coalition warplanes and local allies on the ground, is currently engaged in a major offensive aimed at ejecting Daesh from Mosul, which the terrorist group overran in mid-2014.
Since the operation began some two and a half months ago, Iraqi forces have reportedly established control over more than a quarter of Mosul, once considered Iraq’s second largest city in terms of population.
Despite initial predictions that the city would be fully retaken by year’s end, Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi said last week that at least three more months would be needed to decisively extirpate Daesh from Iraq.
Seven Iraqi soldiers were killed Wednesday in a suicide car-bomb attack by Daesh terrorists in the northern city of Mosul, according to an Iraqi army officer.
"A Daesh suicide bomber drove an explosive-laden car into a concentration of Iraqi soldiers as they advanced into Mosul’s southwestern Al-Wahda neighborhood," Army Colonel Ahmed al-Jabouri told Anadolu Agency.
"The bomber was killed along with seven soldiers," he added.
In a related development the same day, Major-General Abdel Wahab al-Saadi of Iraq’s anti-terrorism agency told Anadolu Agency that Iraqi forces had managed to "liberate" 43 districts of western Mosul since the campaign to recapture the city began last October.
He went on to stress that a wide-ranging operation was still underway aimed at purging all districts of western Mosul of terrorist elements.
The Iraqi military, backed by U.S.-led coalition warplanes and local allies on the ground, is currently engaged in a major offensive aimed at ejecting Daesh from Mosul, which the terrorist group overran in mid-2014.
Since the operation began some two and a half months ago, Iraqi forces have reportedly established control over more than a quarter of Mosul, once considered Iraq’s second largest city in terms of population.
Despite initial predictions that the city would be fully retaken by year’s end, Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi said last week that at least three more months would be needed to decisively extirpate Daesh from Iraq.
^^ only posted by the Turkish source, unreliable.
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An Mi-35 crashed in Baiji (non combat incident), crew of 4 killed. These aircraft have been used constantly for years now in combat (since 2013 delivery, whilst not long it's in combat) seems like the maintenance isn't enough to keep them up against the heavy strains, they've flown thousands of sorties.
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An Mi-35 crashed in Baiji (non combat incident), crew of 4 killed. These aircraft have been used constantly for years now in combat (since 2013 delivery, whilst not long it's in combat) seems like the maintenance isn't enough to keep them up against the heavy strains, they've flown thousands of sorties.
Hindustani78
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A car bomb in eastern Baghdad claimed by Islamic State killed six civilians and wounded 15 on Thursday, police and medics said.
Attacks across Baghdad in the past week, some claimed by Islamic State, have killed more than 60 people, with violence escalating as U.S.-backed Iraqi forces try to drive the militants from the northern city of Mosul.
Islamic State has lost most of the territory it seized in northern and western Iraq in 2014, and ceding Mosul would probably spell the end of its self-styled caliphate. However, its insurgent capabilities in Iraq persist.
(Reporting by Saif Hameed; Editing by Janet Lawrence)
************
Iraqi rapid response forces take their position during battle with Islamic State militants in the Mithaq district of eastern Mosul, Iraq, January 4, 2017. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani
By Stephen Kalin and Isabel Coles | ERBIL, Iraq
Iraqi forces have retaken around 70 percent of eastern Mosul from Islamic State militants and expect to reach the river bisecting the city in the coming days, Iraq's joint operations commander told Reuters.
Lieutenant General Talib Shaghati, who is also head of the elite counter-terrorism service (CTS) spearheading the campaign to retake the northern city, said the cooperation of residents was helping them advance against Islamic State.
In its 12th week, the offensive has gained momentum since Iraqi forces backed by a U.S.-led coalition renewed their push for the city a week ago, clearing several more eastern districts despite fierce resistance.
"Roughly 65-70 percent of the eastern side has been liberated," Shaghati said in an interview late on Wednesday in the Kurdish capital of Erbil. "I think in the coming few days we will see the full liberation of the eastern side".
The western half of the city remains under the full control of Islamic State, which is fighting to hold on to its largest urban stronghold with snipers and suicide car bombs numbering "in the hundreds" according to Shaghati.
The Mosul assault, involving a 100,000-strong ground force of Iraqi government troops, members of the autonomous Kurdish security forces and mainly Shi'ite militiamen, is the most complex battle in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.
The commander of a U.S.-led coalition backing the Iraqi offensive told Reuters on Wednesday that increased momentum was due largely to better coordination among the army and security forces. He said the Iraqis had improved their ability to defend against Islamic State car bombs.
Although vastly outnumbered, the militants have used the urban terrain to their advantage, concealing car bombs in narrow alleys, posting snipers on tall buildings with civilians on lower floors and making tunnels and surface-level passageways between buildings. They have also embedded themselves among the local population.
CTS pushed into Mosul from the east in late October and made swift advances but regular army troops tasked with advancing from the north and south made slower progress and the operation stalled for several weeks.
The roughly 10,000 members of CTS, established a decade ago with support from the U.S. forces, are considered the best-trained and equipped fighters in Iraq.
Shaghati described the role of the international coalition, providing air support and advising Iraqi forces on the ground as "outstanding" and said Islamic State was crumbling under pressure.
"Daesh (Islamic State) devised many plans to obstruct and block us but they failed. We were able to surpass them and these areas were liberated with high speed," Shaghati said.
"We have intelligence that (Islamic State) leaders and their families are fleeing outside Iraq."
(Writing by Isabel Coles; Editing by Janet Lawrence)
Reuters / Tuesday, January 03, 2017
A member of Iraqi rapid response forces helps displaced Iraqi civilians, who fled the Islamic State stronghold of Mosul, in the Mithaq district of eastern Mosul, Iraq. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani
Iraqi rapid response forces gather during battle with Daesh (the so-called IS) militants in the Mithaq district of eastern Mosul, Tuesday. — Reuters
First large night assault OP in Mosul by CTS/isof turned successful.
Iraqi troops entered Mosul from the north for the first time on Friday, part of a new phase in the battle for the city that also saw elite forces bridge a river under cover of darkness in an unprecedented night raid.
reuters
Iraqi troops entered Mosul from the north for the first time on Friday, part of a new phase in the battle for the city that also saw elite forces bridge a river under cover of darkness in an unprecedented night raid.
reuters
Hindustani78
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http://www.businessinsider.com/wounded-american-troops-fighting-isis-2017-1
Newly-released data from the Department of Defense shows an alarming spike in the number of American personnel wounded in the fight against ISIS.
Since October, at least 14 US troops were wounded in combat operations under Operation Inherent Resolve — nearly double the number wounded since the fight against ISIS in Iraq and Syria began in August 2014. At least 8 Americans were killed in combat since the campaign began, while 23 have died in "non-hostile" events.
The Pentagon's quiet acknowledgement of a spike in casualties was first reported by Andrew deGrandpre at Military Times.
The increase in combat wounds — which can be caused by small-arms fire, rockets, mortars, and other weaponry, though the Pentagon does not release specifics of how troops are injured — lines up with ongoing offensives against ISIS in the Iraqi city of Mosul and its Syrian capital of Raqqa.
US military officials have often downplayed the role of American troops in the region, saying they are there mainly to "advise and assist" Iraqi and Kurdish personnel fighting on the front lines.
The military has more than 5,000 troops on the ground in Iraq currently, a number which has steadily crept up since roughly 300 troops were deployed to secure the Baghdad airport in June 2014.
With 15 combat injuries, the Marine Corps has the most wounded in the campaign so far. The Army, Navy, and Air Force had 11, 3, and 1 wounded, respectively.
http://www.businessinsider.com/military-advisers-inside-mosul-2017-1
The battle to retake Mosul began in October, and Iraqi forces have encountered fierce resistance and significant casualties. For example, Iraq's elite "Golden Brigade" of special operations troops have suffered upwards of "50 percent casualties" in the fight, which could eventually make them combat ineffective, according to a Pentagon officer who spoke with Politico.
Casualties have also hit US forces as well. Since October, the number of Americans wounded in combat has nearly doubled since OIR kicked off in August 2014.
That's likely due to US forces working more closely with their Iraqi counterparts. Though US officials have often downplayed the role of American troops in the region as merely training, advising, and assisting Iraqi forces, the latest situation report from the Institute for the Study of War says that US and coalition forces have "embedded their advisors at lower-levels in the [Iraqi Security Forces]."
In other words, US special operations forces are often not remaining behind the front lines — especially considering a "front line" in the anti-ISIS fight is murky at best — but instead, are right in the thick of it with Iraqi troops.
http://saudigazette.com.sa/world/mena/iraqi-forces-press-gains-daesh-mosul/
ERBIL, Iraq — Iraqi forces pressed gains against Daesh (so-called IS) militants in eastern Mosul on Wednesday and have retaken two more districts, security sources said, with thousands more civilians fleeing the fighting.
An elite Interior Ministry unit had entered the Mithaq district and were clearing it on Wednesday, the sources said, while counterterrorism forces retook an industrial zone on Tuesday.
The militants are using the city terrain to their advantage, concealing car bombs in narrow alleys, posting snipers on tall buildings with civilians on lower floors, and making underground tunnels and surface-level passageways between buildings.
“We were very afraid,” said one Mithaq resident.
“A Daesh anti-aircraft weapon was positioned close to our house and was opening fire on helicopters. We could see a small number of Daesh fighters in the street carrying light and medium weapons. They were hit by planes.”
Most of those fleeing are from the eastern districts but residents of the besieged west, still fully under the militants’ control, are increasingly attempting to escape, scaling bridges bombed by the coalition and crossing the Tigris by boat.
Despite shortages of food and water, most Mosul residents had stayed in their homes rather than fleeing as many had expected before the offensive began in October.
The UN refugee agency has said 125,568 people have been displaced from Mosul, a city of about 1.5 million, and more than 13,000 of those have fled in the five days since the US-led coalition renewed an offensive that had stalled for weeks.
That represents an increase of nearly 50 percent in the number of people who fled every day from Mosul over the several weeks of relative calm that ended last weekend.
Twelve weeks into Iraq’s largest military campaign since the US-led invasion of 2003, security forces have retaken about a quarter of Mosul.
“Finally we have been freed,” a second Mithaq resident told Reuters by phone. “We feared fighting would be fierce, but it was easy compared with other areas. Daesh members fled without putting up strong resistance.”
Counterterrorism units pushed into eastern Mosul in October but regular army troops tasked with advancing from the north and south made slower progress and the operation stalled.
After redeploying forces, Iraqi forces have been advancing on three fronts towards the Tigris river that bisects Mosul, in a second phase of the offensive.
Victory in Mosul would probably spell the end for Daesh’s self-styled caliphate but in recent days the militants have displayed the tactics to which they are likely to resort when they lose the city, with bomb attacks in Baghdad, and attacks on security forces in territory they have lost. — Reuters
Iraq security forces patrol as they carry operations to rescue Felluce town from Daesh terrorists in Al-Andalus and Al- Risale towns, on June 18, 2016 in Anbar, Iraq. ( Haydar Hadi - Anadolu Agency )
http://aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/army-tribal-allies-make-gains-against-daesh-in-w-iraq/721771
The Iraqi army and pro-government tribal fighters captured several villages on Friday -- without facing resistance -- from the Daesh terrorist group in the western Anbar province, according to a military official.
Army Major-General Numan Abdel-Zawbaei told Anadolu Agency that Iraqi forces had "liberated" seven villages located between Anbar’s city of Haditha and the town of Anah.
The villages were taken after Daesh militants vacated the area without offering resistance, leaving weapons and ammunition behind before retreating to the town of Anah.
Iraqi forces are now reportedly besieging areas near Anah before a decisive advance on the town.
In a related development, Iraqi counter-terrorism forces also liberated the northern city of Mosul’s eastern Al-Muthanna district, according to a televised statement by General Abdel-Amir Yarullah.
The Iraqi army, backed by U.S.-led coalition warplanes and local allies on the ground, is currently engaged in a major offensive aimed at ejecting Daesh from Mosul, which the terrorist group overran in mid-2014.
Since the operation began in mid-October, Iraqi forces have reportedly established control over more than a quarter of Mosul, once considered Iraq’s second largest city in terms of population.
*Reporting by Suleiman al-Qubeisi, Ibrahim Salih and Ali Jawad; Writing by Mahmoud Barakat
Newly-released data from the Department of Defense shows an alarming spike in the number of American personnel wounded in the fight against ISIS.
Since October, at least 14 US troops were wounded in combat operations under Operation Inherent Resolve — nearly double the number wounded since the fight against ISIS in Iraq and Syria began in August 2014. At least 8 Americans were killed in combat since the campaign began, while 23 have died in "non-hostile" events.
The Pentagon's quiet acknowledgement of a spike in casualties was first reported by Andrew deGrandpre at Military Times.
The increase in combat wounds — which can be caused by small-arms fire, rockets, mortars, and other weaponry, though the Pentagon does not release specifics of how troops are injured — lines up with ongoing offensives against ISIS in the Iraqi city of Mosul and its Syrian capital of Raqqa.
US military officials have often downplayed the role of American troops in the region, saying they are there mainly to "advise and assist" Iraqi and Kurdish personnel fighting on the front lines.
The military has more than 5,000 troops on the ground in Iraq currently, a number which has steadily crept up since roughly 300 troops were deployed to secure the Baghdad airport in June 2014.
With 15 combat injuries, the Marine Corps has the most wounded in the campaign so far. The Army, Navy, and Air Force had 11, 3, and 1 wounded, respectively.
http://www.businessinsider.com/military-advisers-inside-mosul-2017-1
The battle to retake Mosul began in October, and Iraqi forces have encountered fierce resistance and significant casualties. For example, Iraq's elite "Golden Brigade" of special operations troops have suffered upwards of "50 percent casualties" in the fight, which could eventually make them combat ineffective, according to a Pentagon officer who spoke with Politico.
Casualties have also hit US forces as well. Since October, the number of Americans wounded in combat has nearly doubled since OIR kicked off in August 2014.
That's likely due to US forces working more closely with their Iraqi counterparts. Though US officials have often downplayed the role of American troops in the region as merely training, advising, and assisting Iraqi forces, the latest situation report from the Institute for the Study of War says that US and coalition forces have "embedded their advisors at lower-levels in the [Iraqi Security Forces]."
In other words, US special operations forces are often not remaining behind the front lines — especially considering a "front line" in the anti-ISIS fight is murky at best — but instead, are right in the thick of it with Iraqi troops.
http://saudigazette.com.sa/world/mena/iraqi-forces-press-gains-daesh-mosul/
ERBIL, Iraq — Iraqi forces pressed gains against Daesh (so-called IS) militants in eastern Mosul on Wednesday and have retaken two more districts, security sources said, with thousands more civilians fleeing the fighting.
An elite Interior Ministry unit had entered the Mithaq district and were clearing it on Wednesday, the sources said, while counterterrorism forces retook an industrial zone on Tuesday.
The militants are using the city terrain to their advantage, concealing car bombs in narrow alleys, posting snipers on tall buildings with civilians on lower floors, and making underground tunnels and surface-level passageways between buildings.
“We were very afraid,” said one Mithaq resident.
“A Daesh anti-aircraft weapon was positioned close to our house and was opening fire on helicopters. We could see a small number of Daesh fighters in the street carrying light and medium weapons. They were hit by planes.”
Most of those fleeing are from the eastern districts but residents of the besieged west, still fully under the militants’ control, are increasingly attempting to escape, scaling bridges bombed by the coalition and crossing the Tigris by boat.
Despite shortages of food and water, most Mosul residents had stayed in their homes rather than fleeing as many had expected before the offensive began in October.
The UN refugee agency has said 125,568 people have been displaced from Mosul, a city of about 1.5 million, and more than 13,000 of those have fled in the five days since the US-led coalition renewed an offensive that had stalled for weeks.
That represents an increase of nearly 50 percent in the number of people who fled every day from Mosul over the several weeks of relative calm that ended last weekend.
Twelve weeks into Iraq’s largest military campaign since the US-led invasion of 2003, security forces have retaken about a quarter of Mosul.
“Finally we have been freed,” a second Mithaq resident told Reuters by phone. “We feared fighting would be fierce, but it was easy compared with other areas. Daesh members fled without putting up strong resistance.”
Counterterrorism units pushed into eastern Mosul in October but regular army troops tasked with advancing from the north and south made slower progress and the operation stalled.
After redeploying forces, Iraqi forces have been advancing on three fronts towards the Tigris river that bisects Mosul, in a second phase of the offensive.
Victory in Mosul would probably spell the end for Daesh’s self-styled caliphate but in recent days the militants have displayed the tactics to which they are likely to resort when they lose the city, with bomb attacks in Baghdad, and attacks on security forces in territory they have lost. — Reuters
Iraq security forces patrol as they carry operations to rescue Felluce town from Daesh terrorists in Al-Andalus and Al- Risale towns, on June 18, 2016 in Anbar, Iraq. ( Haydar Hadi - Anadolu Agency )
http://aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/army-tribal-allies-make-gains-against-daesh-in-w-iraq/721771
The Iraqi army and pro-government tribal fighters captured several villages on Friday -- without facing resistance -- from the Daesh terrorist group in the western Anbar province, according to a military official.
Army Major-General Numan Abdel-Zawbaei told Anadolu Agency that Iraqi forces had "liberated" seven villages located between Anbar’s city of Haditha and the town of Anah.
The villages were taken after Daesh militants vacated the area without offering resistance, leaving weapons and ammunition behind before retreating to the town of Anah.
Iraqi forces are now reportedly besieging areas near Anah before a decisive advance on the town.
In a related development, Iraqi counter-terrorism forces also liberated the northern city of Mosul’s eastern Al-Muthanna district, according to a televised statement by General Abdel-Amir Yarullah.
The Iraqi army, backed by U.S.-led coalition warplanes and local allies on the ground, is currently engaged in a major offensive aimed at ejecting Daesh from Mosul, which the terrorist group overran in mid-2014.
Since the operation began in mid-October, Iraqi forces have reportedly established control over more than a quarter of Mosul, once considered Iraq’s second largest city in terms of population.
*Reporting by Suleiman al-Qubeisi, Ibrahim Salih and Ali Jawad; Writing by Mahmoud Barakat
There's been some good progress. Also northern night assault by SF caught isis by surprise, despite their strong resistance and over 1000 car bombs by now in Mosul they're collapsing steadily. Federal police seized a neighborhood in the south of Mosul.
army raised flag at a bridge on the Tigris in Mosul
REUTERS
Iraqi forces closed in on the river that runs through central Mosul on Saturday in advances against Islamic State that have gathered pace thanks to new tactics and better coordination, a counter-terrorism spokesman said.
Advances in recent days, including Saturday's push to within several hundred metres of the Tigris, have included an unprecedented nighttime assault by elite forces and driven the militants out of several areas east of the river in what is their last major stronghold in Iraq.
Counter-terrorism service (CTS) forces were the closest they had been to the Tigris inside Mosul and closing in on a strategic bridge, the spokesman said. The U.S.-backed operation to recapture the city was launched nearly three months ago.
"Counter-terrorism forces have been sent about 500m (yards) from the fourth bridge," Sabah al-Numan told reporters east of Mosul.
CTS seized the Ghufran district, previously known as al-Baath, and entered neighboring Wahda, he said.
A separate military statement said Iraqi federal police had recaptured a hospital complex in Wahda in southeastern Mosul, a significant turnaround after army units were forced to withdraw from the site last month.
Numan said fresh advances, which have gathered pace after troops were bogged down for several weeks by Islamic State resistance and the presence of large numbers of civilians, were a consequence of new tactics and better coordination between different branches of the military.
CTS and federal police "are now moving in parallel on both axes" in southeastern Mosul, he said.
"We are proceeding side by side ... and advancing at the same level. This is a very important factor, thanks to which Daesh (Islamic State) has not been able to move its fighters. It has to support one axis (front) at the expense of another.
"We have worn down the terrorist organization with this type of advance."
Friday's nighttime operation, launched after a week of planning, had been a particular success, Numan said.
CTS forces using night-vision equipment crossed the Khosr river, a tributary that runs perpendicular to the Tigris through eastern Mosul, via makeshift earth bridges after IS had destroyed permanent ones, he said.
Air strikes from the U.S.-led coalition sped that advance into Muthanna district.
The CTS and federal police are part of a 100,000-strong Iraqi force made up of the military, Kurdish fighters and Shi'ite militias, backed by U.S.-led air power.
(Reporting by Stephen Kalin and Ahmed Rahseed, writing by John Davison; editing by John Stonestreet)
All aside, There seems to be barely to no interest in the Mosul OP on PDF strangely.
army raised flag at a bridge on the Tigris in Mosul
REUTERS
Iraqi forces closed in on the river that runs through central Mosul on Saturday in advances against Islamic State that have gathered pace thanks to new tactics and better coordination, a counter-terrorism spokesman said.
Advances in recent days, including Saturday's push to within several hundred metres of the Tigris, have included an unprecedented nighttime assault by elite forces and driven the militants out of several areas east of the river in what is their last major stronghold in Iraq.
Counter-terrorism service (CTS) forces were the closest they had been to the Tigris inside Mosul and closing in on a strategic bridge, the spokesman said. The U.S.-backed operation to recapture the city was launched nearly three months ago.
"Counter-terrorism forces have been sent about 500m (yards) from the fourth bridge," Sabah al-Numan told reporters east of Mosul.
CTS seized the Ghufran district, previously known as al-Baath, and entered neighboring Wahda, he said.
A separate military statement said Iraqi federal police had recaptured a hospital complex in Wahda in southeastern Mosul, a significant turnaround after army units were forced to withdraw from the site last month.
Numan said fresh advances, which have gathered pace after troops were bogged down for several weeks by Islamic State resistance and the presence of large numbers of civilians, were a consequence of new tactics and better coordination between different branches of the military.
CTS and federal police "are now moving in parallel on both axes" in southeastern Mosul, he said.
"We are proceeding side by side ... and advancing at the same level. This is a very important factor, thanks to which Daesh (Islamic State) has not been able to move its fighters. It has to support one axis (front) at the expense of another.
"We have worn down the terrorist organization with this type of advance."
Friday's nighttime operation, launched after a week of planning, had been a particular success, Numan said.
CTS forces using night-vision equipment crossed the Khosr river, a tributary that runs perpendicular to the Tigris through eastern Mosul, via makeshift earth bridges after IS had destroyed permanent ones, he said.
Air strikes from the U.S.-led coalition sped that advance into Muthanna district.
The CTS and federal police are part of a 100,000-strong Iraqi force made up of the military, Kurdish fighters and Shi'ite militias, backed by U.S.-led air power.
(Reporting by Stephen Kalin and Ahmed Rahseed, writing by John Davison; editing by John Stonestreet)
All aside, There seems to be barely to no interest in the Mosul OP on PDF strangely.
Hindustani78
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http://zeenews.india.com/world/iraqi-forces-close-in-on-tigris-in-is-stronghold-mosul_1965287.html
Mosul: Iraqi special forces closed in on the Tigris river that runs through central Mosul on Saturday, advancing in parallel with other troops and forcing Islamic State to retreat in its last major stronghold in the country.
Turkey and Iraq meanwhile came to an agreement over a demand for the withdrawal of Turkish forces from an area close to Mosul, Baghdad said, as the two regional powers sought to improve ties after a spat last year over Ankara`s military deployment.
Turkey`s prime minister did not say a deal had been reached, but that the issue was discussed and would be resolved.
Advances by Iraqi forces in recent days, including Saturday`s push to within several hundred metres (yards) of the Tigris, involved an unprecedented nighttime assault by elite forces and have driven the ultra-hardline militant group out of several areas east of the river.
The U.S.-backed operation to drive Islamic State out of Mosul, which began in October, initially progressed well before slowing towards the end of the year amid fierce IS resistance and the presence of large numbers of civilians. It has picked up momentum again in a new phase launched last week.
Counter-terrorism service (CTS) forces were the closest they had been to the Tigris inside Mosul and closing in on a strategic bridge, supported by new tactics and better coordination, their spokesman said.
"Counter-terrorism forces have been sent about 500m from the fourth bridge," Sabah al-Numan told reporters east of Mosul.
CTS seized the Ghufran district, previously known as al-Baath, and entered neighbouring Wahda, he said.
A separate military statement said Iraqi federal police had recaptured a hospital complex in Wahda in southeastern Mosul, a significant turnaround after army units were forced to withdraw from the site last month.
CTS and federal police "are now moving in parallel on both axes" in southeastern Mosul, Numan said.
"We are proceeding side by side ... and advancing at the same level. This is a very important factor, thanks to which Daesh (Islamic State) has not been able to move its fighters. It has to support one axis (front) at the expense of another.
"We have worn down the terrorist organisation with this type of advance."
TURKISH WITHDRAWAL DISCUSSED
Friday`s nighttime operation, launched after a week of planning, had been a particular success, Numan said.
CTS forces using night-vision equipment crossed the Khosr river, a tributary that runs perpendicular to the Tigris through eastern Mosul, via makeshift earth bridges after IS had destroyed permanent ones, he said.
Air strikes from the U.S.-led coalition sped that advance into Muthanna district.
The CTS and federal police are part of a 100,000-strong Iraqi force made up of the military, Kurdish fighters and Shi`ite militias, backed by U.S.-led air power.
Some Sunni Muslim and Kurdish peshmerga units have been trained by Turkish forces stationed at the Bashiqa camp northeast of Mosul.
Turkey`s military presence in northern Iraq since well before the Mosul campaign has angered Baghdad, and the two countries traded barbs over the issue in October shortly before it began.
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said Baghdad reached an agreement with Ankara on Saturday over Iraq`s request that Turkish forces withdraw from Bashiqa.
He gave no details of the deal, which he announced during a visit to Baghdad by Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim. Turkey agreed to "respect the sovereignty of Iraq", and Baghdad and Ankara agreed not to interfere in each other`s domestic affairs, he said.
Yildirim said at a news conference with Abadi: "We discussed the issue of Bashiqa.
"We see that significant progress is being made in cleansing Daesh from the region. In line with this we will solve this (Bashiqa) subject in some way in a friendly way."
First Published: Saturday, January 7, 2017 - 20:50
Mosul: Iraqi special forces closed in on the Tigris river that runs through central Mosul on Saturday, advancing in parallel with other troops and forcing Islamic State to retreat in its last major stronghold in the country.
Turkey and Iraq meanwhile came to an agreement over a demand for the withdrawal of Turkish forces from an area close to Mosul, Baghdad said, as the two regional powers sought to improve ties after a spat last year over Ankara`s military deployment.
Turkey`s prime minister did not say a deal had been reached, but that the issue was discussed and would be resolved.
Advances by Iraqi forces in recent days, including Saturday`s push to within several hundred metres (yards) of the Tigris, involved an unprecedented nighttime assault by elite forces and have driven the ultra-hardline militant group out of several areas east of the river.
The U.S.-backed operation to drive Islamic State out of Mosul, which began in October, initially progressed well before slowing towards the end of the year amid fierce IS resistance and the presence of large numbers of civilians. It has picked up momentum again in a new phase launched last week.
Counter-terrorism service (CTS) forces were the closest they had been to the Tigris inside Mosul and closing in on a strategic bridge, supported by new tactics and better coordination, their spokesman said.
"Counter-terrorism forces have been sent about 500m from the fourth bridge," Sabah al-Numan told reporters east of Mosul.
CTS seized the Ghufran district, previously known as al-Baath, and entered neighbouring Wahda, he said.
A separate military statement said Iraqi federal police had recaptured a hospital complex in Wahda in southeastern Mosul, a significant turnaround after army units were forced to withdraw from the site last month.
CTS and federal police "are now moving in parallel on both axes" in southeastern Mosul, Numan said.
"We are proceeding side by side ... and advancing at the same level. This is a very important factor, thanks to which Daesh (Islamic State) has not been able to move its fighters. It has to support one axis (front) at the expense of another.
"We have worn down the terrorist organisation with this type of advance."
TURKISH WITHDRAWAL DISCUSSED
Friday`s nighttime operation, launched after a week of planning, had been a particular success, Numan said.
CTS forces using night-vision equipment crossed the Khosr river, a tributary that runs perpendicular to the Tigris through eastern Mosul, via makeshift earth bridges after IS had destroyed permanent ones, he said.
Air strikes from the U.S.-led coalition sped that advance into Muthanna district.
The CTS and federal police are part of a 100,000-strong Iraqi force made up of the military, Kurdish fighters and Shi`ite militias, backed by U.S.-led air power.
Some Sunni Muslim and Kurdish peshmerga units have been trained by Turkish forces stationed at the Bashiqa camp northeast of Mosul.
Turkey`s military presence in northern Iraq since well before the Mosul campaign has angered Baghdad, and the two countries traded barbs over the issue in October shortly before it began.
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said Baghdad reached an agreement with Ankara on Saturday over Iraq`s request that Turkish forces withdraw from Bashiqa.
He gave no details of the deal, which he announced during a visit to Baghdad by Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim. Turkey agreed to "respect the sovereignty of Iraq", and Baghdad and Ankara agreed not to interfere in each other`s domestic affairs, he said.
Yildirim said at a news conference with Abadi: "We discussed the issue of Bashiqa.
"We see that significant progress is being made in cleansing Daesh from the region. In line with this we will solve this (Bashiqa) subject in some way in a friendly way."
First Published: Saturday, January 7, 2017 - 20:50
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Counter-terrorism service (CTS) forces were the closest they had been to the Tigris inside Mosul and closing in on a strategic bridge, the spokesman said. The US-backed operation to recapture the city was launched nearly three months ago.
“Counter-terrorism forces have been sent about 500m (yards) from the fourth bridge,” Sabah Al-Numan told reporters east of Mosul.
http://aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/turkey-iraq-cooperation-council-vows-to-work-for-peace/722433
The third Turkey-Iraq High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council meeting was held in Baghdad on Saturday, which declared that both countries would work for their mutual interests as well as for peace and stability in the region.
According to a joint statement, “Both parties agreed to not allow any terrorist organization to carry out any kind of activities from their lands.”
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim and his Iraqi counterpart Haider al-Abadi co-chaired the meeting.
Yildirim is on an official visit to Baghdad to discuss regional issues, including bilateral cooperation against terrorism.
Ankara and Baghdad also agreed to carry out a joint counter terrorism fight and strengthen their security ties.
About the presence of Turkish military in Iraq’s Camp Bashiqa near Mosul city, the statement said the two states agreed it was an Iraqi camp.
Turkey has a longstanding military training mission at Camp Bashiqa, where Turkish soldiers have trained both Peshmerga fighters and local tribal volunteers in combat techniques.
In recent months, the mission’s presence in Mosul in northern Iraq has led to tension between Baghdad and Ankara amid calls by some Iraqi lawmakers for Turkish troops to withdraw.
Baghdad stated that its stance on the camp was unchanged and reiterated its call on Turkey to start its military withdrawal process while Ankara said it respects Iraq’s territorial integrity and national unity.
Trade and economic relations between Iraq and Turkey have also been discussed in the meeting and both parties agreed to boost their trade volume, the statement read.
Ankara and Baghdad will also jointly work on water projects and management of Euphrates and Tigris rivers, it said.
The statement also highlighted a desire for comprehensive tourism and cultural exchanges to strengthen bilateral ties.
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http://www.arabnews.com/node/1037146/middle-east
UN humanitarian spokesman Jens Laerke said nearly 700 people had been taken to hospitals in Kurdish-controlled areas outside Mosul in the last week and more than 817 had required hospital treatment a week earlier.
“Trauma casualties remain extremely high, particularly near front lines,” he told reporters in Geneva.
Elite forces in the city’s east and northeast have advanced faster since the turn of the year thanks to new tactics and better coordination but there was stiff resistance in the southeast of Mosul, military officials said.
Lt. Col. Abbas Al-Azawi, a spokesman for the Iraqi army’s 16th division, said Iraqi forces entered Hadba on Tuesday, a large northeastern district, though it would likely take more than a day to capture and Daesh was deploying suicide bombers.
Elite Iraqi counter-terrorism service (CTS) units encircled the nearby Sukkar district on Monday and sought to recapture the strategic Mosul University area.
The United Nations has said Daesh seized nuclear material used for scientific research there when the terrorist group overran a third of Iraq in 2014.
The CTS and army units want to capture all the eastern bank of the Tigris so they can launch operations to retake western Mosul. An army statement and the US coalition said Daesh had blown up sections of two bridges linking east and west Mosul in a bid to hamper crossings by Iraqi forces.
Mosul’s five bridges across the Tigris had already been partially damaged by US-led airstrikes to slow the militants’ movement. Coalition spokesman US Air Force Col. John Dorrian told Reuters last week the new damage done by retreating Daesh fighters was “severe” but would not stop the advance.
“Every day the Iraqi Security Forces go forward and every day the enemy goes backward or underground,” he told reporters in Irbil in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region.
Fighting in neighborhoods in the southeast of Mosul has been tougher, however, as Iraqi forces push toward the river.
“The challenge is that they are hiding among civilian families, that’s why our advances are slow and very cautious,” Lt. Col. Abdel Amir Al-Mohammedawi, a spokesman for the rapid response units of Iraq’s federal police, told Reuters.
He said police and army units had fought their way into the Palestine and Sumer districts over the last day but Daesh fighters were firing at civilians trying to flee.
“The families, when they see Iraqi forces coming, flee from the areas controlled by Daesh toward the Iraqi forces, holding up white flags, and Daesh bomb them with mortars and Molotov cocktails, and also shoot at them.
“Whenever they withdraw from a district, they shell it at random, and it’s heavy shelling,” he said.
Dorrian said militant fighters were hiding in mosques, schools and hospitals, using civilians as human shields.
Iraqi forces drive a tank next to Al-Salam hospital after recapturing the area from the Daesh group during an ongoing military operation to recapture the city of Mosul. — AFP
BAGHDAD — Iraqi forces have fought their way into two more southeastern districts of Mosul but their advances are being slowed by Daesh’s tactic of using civilians for cover, a military spokesman said on Tuesday.
The United Nations said civilian casualties had streamed into nearby hospitals in the last two weeks as fighting intensified in the militants’ last major stronghold in Iraq.
Advances by elite forces in the city’s east and northeast have picked up speed in a new push since the turn of the year, and US-backed forces have for the first time reached the Tigris river, which bisects the city.
But fighting in neighborhoods in the southeast has been tougher.
“The challenge is that they (Daesh) are hiding among civilian families, that’s why our advances are slow and very cautious,” Lieutenant-Colonel Abdel Amir Al-Mohammedawi, a spokesman for the rapid response units of Iraq’s federal police, told Reuters.
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