MOSUL OFFENSIVE MOVING FASTER THAN EXPECTED
Iraqi special forces charged into the Mosul battle on Thursday with a pre-dawn advance on a nearby town held by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, a key part of a multi-pronged assault on eastern approaches to the besieged city.
The addition of the elite troops, also known as counterterrorism forces, marked a significant intensification of the fight for Iraq’s second-largest city. As they advanced, attack helicopters fired on the militants and heavy gunfire echoed across the plains.
ISIL militants unleashed nine suicide car and truck bombs against the advancing troops, eight of which were destroyed before reaching their targets, while the ninth struck an armoured Humvee, Lt.-Col Muntadhar al-Shimmari said.
The special forces entered the town of Bartella, a traditionally Christian village that fell to ISIL in 2014, around midday.
The fighting thus far has been concentrated in a cluster of towns and villages outside Mosul that are mostly uninhabited and littered with roadside bombs planted by the militants, which has slowed the Iraqi advance.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, speaking by video link to diplomats meeting in Paris, said the Mosul offensive was moving “more quickly than we thought.”
He also vowed to protect civilians fleeing the fighting and said the government “will not allow any violations of human rights.”
He said most residents of the region have welcomed the advancing forces.