Coalition advancing on Mosul and Raqqa
Generals note new confidence in troops; tough fight lies ahead
Iraq’s military and U.S.-backed opposition forces in Syria are advancing on the Islamic State’s key strongholds with a new confidence not seen since the militants routed Iraqi forces two years ago, U.S. military commanders said.
“It’s fair to say we have the initiative,” Army Lt. Gen. Sean MacFarland, the top coalition commander here, said in an interview at his headquarters. “The momentum is growing.”
He said Iraqi forces in recent weeks have made rapid advances toward the city of Mosul, while U.S.-backed opposition forces in northern Syria are advancing on Raqqa, the militants’ de facto capital.
“We’re closing in on both of them,” MacFarland said about Mosul and Raqqa.
MacFarland and other top leaders acknowledge that tough fighting lies ahead. Both cities are home to thousands of civilians, and the U.S.-backed forces will face a complex urban battlefield, making it difficult to use airstrikes against the militants.
Commanders declined to predict timing, but any final assault is at least still months away. Raqqa likely will take longer.
Militants have had two years to build a network of defenses in and around Mosul, and Iraqi forces are just now arriving at the outer belts. The coalition estimates between 5,000 and 6,000 fighters are inside the densely populated city.
“We expect that the fight will get more and more difficult the closer we get to Mosul,” Maj. Gen. Gary Volesky said.
The progress of recent weeks has given an air of inevitability to the campaign in both Iraq and Syria, as airstrikes and ground fighting have worn down the Islamic State, also known as ISIL or ISIS.
Iraq’s military, much of which collapsed when the Islamic State swept into Iraq from Syria two years ago, has had a string of successes, including the recapture of Fallujah and Ramadi. Last month, U.S. and Iraqi airstrikes decimated a militant convoy attempting to flee Fallujah, killing more than 400 militants.
As Iraqi forces were driving the Islamic State from Fallujah, other forces advanced on Mosul in a series of complex maneuvers that highlighted the progress Iraq’s military has made both in capabilities and willingness to fight.
Iraq’s 9th armored division and a brigade of Iraqi special operations forces spearheaded an ad- vance of more than 50 miles up the Tigris River Valley. Iraqi forces also built an expeditionary bridge across the Tigris while fighting militants.
“This is a different Iraqi army than what was here a year ago,” Volesky said.
The bridge and the Qayyarah West air base, about 39 miles south of Mosul, will ensure secure supply lines for the Mosul offensive and have disrupted and isolated militants in the area south of Mosul.
In Syria, U.S.-backed opposition forces have circled the town of Manbij and seized parts of the city, including a hospital where militants had set up a headquarters.
Capturing the city would consolidate territory held by U.S.backed forces in northern Syria and also prove the worth of a growing number of U.S.-backed Arab fighters who will be essential for taking Raqqa, about 70 miles south of Manbij.
The U.S. military backs a force of about 30,000 opposition fighters in Syria. The U.S. has deployed about 300 special operations forces to the region to help organize and recruit fighters willing to take on the Islamic State.
Still, much of the success in battling the Islamic State in northern Syria has been the work of Kurdish forces, who have pushed the militants out of their territory. The United States has tried to build a coalition of Arab forces who can expand fighting beyond Kurdish-controlled areas.
The White House this year authorized an additional 250 special operations forces in Syria, largely to expand Arab involvement in the Syrian Defense Force.
Manbij is a key test of those efforts. “We’re learning a lot about how to work with the Syrian Arab Coalition in the Manbij fight,” MacFarland said. The U.S.-led coalition has refined its ability to coordinate airstrikes with the forces fighting in Manbij, providing the opposition with a key advantage over the militants.
The fighting has been difficult, since the militants defending Manbij put up a more determined resistance than many of their counterparts in Iraq.
But the opposition force, most of whom are part of the Arab coalition, continued to press into the city, raising hopes it will be capable of expanding and taking on militants in Raqqa.
“The enemy will probably fight harder in Raqqa than they will in Mosul,” MacFarland said.
The Islamic State is increasingly turning to terror attacks on civilian targets as it has lost territory in Iraq and Syria.
“When Mosul falls, it’s not going to be like ISIL is just going to disappear,” Volesky said. “They are going to go out and try to maintain relevance.”
The U.S.-led coalition will need to keep pressure on the Islamic State even if it loses its self-proclaimed caliphate, officials said.
“Destroying ISIL’s parent tumor in Iraq and Syria is necessary, but it’s not sufficient,” Defense Secretary Ash Carter said. “ISIL’s influence and activities continue to pose a threat.”
“We expect that the fight will get more and more difficult the closer we get to Mosul.” Maj. Gen. Gary Volesky