Iraqis see stiff resistance in Mosul
ISIS cracking down on informants, punishing those with phones and internet connections
MOSUL, Iraq — The Iraqi advance into Mosul’s western half slowed Saturday as combat turned to urban warfare and Iraqi forces met stiff resistance from the Islamic State group. Hundreds of civilians poured out of Mosul on foot following the advances, but the vast majority of 750,000 estimated to still be in the city’s west remain trapped, and describe deteriorating humanitarian and security conditions.
Special forces Lt. Gen. AbdulWahab al-Saadi said that his troops are “moving very slowly” and that Islamic State fighters are responding with car bombs, snipers and dozens of armed drones.
The drones have caused relatively few deaths, but have inflicted dozens of light injuries that have disrupted the pace of ground operations.
Similar to the way operations inside eastern Mosul initially unfolded, in west Mosul, the militants, also known as ISIS, repeatedly brought Iraqi convoys to a halt Saturday with small teams of one or two men and a handful of car bombs.
Al-Saadi said the Mamun neighborhood was particularly difficult because its streets are not organized in a grid. “The roads are random,” he said, which makes it more difficult for his men to set up roadblocks to stop car bombs, a difficulty that foreshadows obstacles Iraqi forces expect to face in the narrow alleyways of western Mosul’s historic district.
But al-Saadi said he expects the pace to increase after Iraqi forces retake territory and infrastructure on Mosul’s southwestern edge — which will allow them to shorten supply lines and link up with forces in the city’s east.
Along the road beside al-Saadi’s base of operations, hundreds of civilians fleeing Mosul walked slowly past, many with sheep, cows and goats in tow.
Many of those fleeing said they were from villages outside Mosul and had been forced to march to the city more than four months ago to serve as human shields.
Groups of men were screened against a database of ISIS suspects and two prisoners were dragged past a crowd and into an abandoned building.
“We brought them directly from inside Mosul,” said an Iraqi special forces solider from inside the Humvee that delivered the detainees. He spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.
A former Iraqi army lieutenant colonel and specialist in landattack missiles, who used the nickname Abu Karim fearing for the safety of his family, spoke to The Associated Press by phone, describing a “deteriorating security and humanitarian situation” inside western Mosul.
“I’m hiding in my house, and my wife lives in constant fear of Daesh raiding our home,” said Abu Karim, using the Arabic acronym for the extremist group.
Abu Karim said ISIS fighters have been setting up checkpoints and storming homes to crack down on informants, meting out punishments for anyone carrying a mobile phone or found with an internet connection that include flogging, jail time, and fines.
“[ISIS] tried to recruit me because of my expertise in missiles. But I told them I fought in the war against Iran and the Americans, and couldn’t fight anymore. They took me before a judge and he let me go with a $500 dollar fine,” said Abu Karim.