Thousands of civilians trapped as troops storm Isil’s last Mosul base

IRAQI forces began an assault on the last Mosul stronghold of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) yesterday, amid fears for up to 100,000 trapped civilians.

At dawn, troops stormed Mosul’s Old City, a densely populated area of narrow streets, where Isil leader Abu Bakr al-baghdadi declared the establishment of the group’s Islamic caliphate three years ago.

Iraq state television aired live footage showing thick smoke rising above the Old City as gunfire sounded in the narrow streets.

It said leaflets were distributed urging civilians to leave through five “safe corridors”.

“This is the final chapter” in the offensive to take Mosul, said Lieutenant General Abdul Ghani al-assadi, commander of the Counter Terrorism Service elite units spearheading the assault.

Hundreds of civilians have been killed near the frontlines in the past three weeks while fleeing the Old City, as Iraqi forces could not fully secure exit corridors.

Thousands of civilians are believed to be trapped in the Old City, where the militants are using them as human shields, UN humanitarian coordinator Lise Grande said. She said conditions are “desperate,” with little food and no clean water.

“This will be a terrifying time for around 100,000 people still trapped in Mosul’s Old City... now at risk of getting caught up in the fierce street fighting to come,” the International Rescue Committee said in a statement.

Ms Grande said there have been 7,000 gunshot wounds of people trying to leave Isil-controlled districts.

The geography of the Old City also increases the risks to civilians during the assault.

“With its narrow and winding streets, Iraqi forces will be even more reliant on airstrikes despite the difficulty in identifying civilians sheltering in buildings and the increased risk of civilians being used as human shields by Isil fighters,” said Nora Love, acting country director for the International Rescue Committee.

Ms Love also warned that “the buildings of the old town are particularly vulnerable to collapse even if they aren’t directly targeted”.

The battle to recapture Mosul has been ongoing for eight months. About 850,000 people, more than a third of the pre-war population of the northern Iraqi city, have fled.

It is not clear how many Isil members remain in Mosul, where many foreign fighters have joined local jihadists since the city was taken.

“The locals in Daesh will shave their beards and try to blend in with the civilians as they always do,” Lt Gen Assadi of the CTS said. “The foreigners will fight hard and eventually get killed.”

The fall of Mosul was the Iraqi forces’ worst defeat in the war with IS. Regaining it would cap a major turnaround for security forces, who broke away and ran despite outnumbering the jihadists who attacked the city in 2014.