The battle for Mosul
Iraqi forces press wide-scale assault on Daesh stronghold
BARTELLA, IRAQ— The Iraqi army pushed into a town near the Daeshheld city of Mosul on Saturday, a day after dozens of Daesh militants stormed into the northern city of Kirkuk, setting off two days of clashes and killing at least 80 people.
U.S. Defence Secretary Ash Carter meanwhile met with Iraqi com- manders in Baghdad to discuss the offensive to retake Mosul, which the U.S. is supporting with airstrikes and advisers on the ground.
The Iraqi army said the 9th Division has pushed into the town of Hamdaniyah, also known as Qaraqosh and Bakhdida, and raised the flag over its central government compound, but the troops were likely still facing resistance in and around the town. Similar past an- nouncements have often proved premature.
The town is around 20 kilometres from Mosul.
Iraqi forces launched a wide-scale offensive earlier this week aimed at retaking Mosul, the country’s second-largest city, which fell to Daesh, also known as ISIS or ISIL, in 2014.
Hamdaniyah is believed to be largely uninhabited. Daesh has heavily mined the approaches to Mosul, and Iraqi forces have had to contend with roadside bombs, snipers and suicide truck bombs as they move closer to the city.
Daesh said it foiled an attack on Hamdaniyah and seized vehicles and weapons left by retreating Shiite militiamen.
The claim, carried by the extremist group’s Aamaq news agency, could not be confirmed.
An Iraqi television station said one of its reporters was shot dead near Mosul, the second journalist in as many days to be killed while covering the conflict.
Alsumaria TV said cameraman Ali Risan was shot in the chest by a sniper Saturday during a battle in the al-Shura area. Journalist Ahmet Haceroglu of Turkmeneli TV was shot dead by a militant sniper Friday, while covering the Daesh assault on Kirkuk.
Iraqi forces retook the town of Bartella, about 15 kilometres east of Mo- sul, earlier this week, but are still facing pockets of resistance in the area.
Inside the town, a road extending more than 100 metres was completely demolished, with all the homes on either side reduced to rubble.
In Kirkuk, meanwhile, some fighting continued a day after Daesh launched a massive attack in and around the city, some 170 kilometres southeast of Mosul. The assault appeared to be an attempt to divert attention from Mosul.
Brig. Gen. Khattab Omer of the Kirkuk police said at least 80 people were killed in the assault, mainly Kurdish security forces. Another 170 were wounded, he said, adding that a sundown curfew has been imposed on the city.
Omer said Kurdish security forces recovered the bodies of 56 militants who took part in the attack. The Kurds assumed control of Mosul in 2014, when the Iraqi army and police crumbled in the face of a lightning Daesh advance across northern Iraq.
Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider alAbadi said the Kirkuk assault was a terrorist attack, not a military breach. “Nearly all the terrorists who entered Kirkuk have been eliminated, and we have full control, except for maybe one area where they are being flushed out,” he said after meeting with Carter.
As the assault on Kirkuk was underway, an airstrike hit a funeral procession in the town of Daquq to the south, killing17 people, mainly women and children, and wounding another 50, said Daquq Mayor Amir Khodakram. He said it was not clear who carried out the airstrike and officials are investigating.
The Russian defence ministry blamed the strike on the U.S.-led coalition, saying it had “all the signs of a war crime.” Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, spokesman for the ministry, said two jets were involved in the raid and apparently mistook the procession for a gathering of militants.
The U.S. military in Baghdad could not be reached for comment.
Iraq launched a long-awaited operation on Monday aimed at retaking Mosul. It is the largest operation undertaken by Iraqi forces since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion and is expected to take weeks, if not months.
Carter’s visit comes two days after a U.S. service member was killed out- side Mosul, underscoring the risk U.S. troops are taking as they advise Iraqi forces in the fight.
More than 4,800 U.S. troops are in Iraq and there are more than100 U.S. special operations forces operating with Iraqi units. Hundreds more American troops are playing a support role in staging bases farther from the front lines.
Elsewhere in Iraq, a burning sulphur plant south of Mosul that was torched by Daesh is releasing large amounts of noxious gas into the atmosphere, draping towns in the area in toxic smoke.
The air has turned a greyish colour as it mixes with smoke from earlier oil well fires set by the militants. The fumes make breathing difficult, with residents from as far as 30 kilometres away saying they are suffering from coughing, headaches and nosebleeds.
A small area hospital has treated some 250 people for breathing difficulties.
“The smoke is from sulphur that was lit by Daesh,” said Alaa Abdullah Khaled, a resident in the nearby village of Awsaja.
“It is causing suffocation among the children and it gives them nosebleeds.”
Two U.S. military officials said that while the fire was set two days ago in Mishraq, the winds shifted earlier Saturday, sending the smoke south toward Qayara West air field, a staging area for the Mosul offensive.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
They said troops at the base were wearing protective masks because of the breathing concerns, and estimated it could take two to three days to put the fire out.