The deadly battle for Mosul
I.S. SNIPERS: Iraqi forces came under heavy attack as they push to retake city
BASHIQA
KURDISH Peshmerga forces who stormed an Islamic State-held town in northern Iraq were confident they would take control quickly.
Then a sniper started shooting from a red building. Every five minutes or so, he opened fire at the Kurdish forces and the American special forces accompanying them, holding up any advance by their convoy of 40 vehicles.
What unfolded for hours spoke volumes about the difficulties that Iraqi forces will face in the battle for Mosul, 15km southwest of here.
Senior Kurdish intelligence officials say that IS, which sent waves of suicide car bombers to slow the army’s advance on the city outskirts, will prove just as formidable in the tight alleyways where it has deployed a large number of snipers.
On the streets here yesterday, the Kurdish fighters and their American support could call on an impressive collection of firepower.
American Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles with computer-operated 50 calibre machine guns were lined up on the street near the sniper.
American special forces clutching sophisticated sniper rifles, with advanced technology at their disposal, carefully studied the situation as the bullets whizzed by.
Across the street from them was a Peshmerga fighter, holding a machine gun, with 1,000 bullets strapped around his waist.
“I have told my men to advance to get those dogs,” Peshmerga officer Rasheed Haji Rosta said.
But no solution was in sight, despite the bravado.
Every 10 minutes or so, the sniper fired several rounds in their direction. At one stage, an IS fighter could be seen, running between houses carrying an AK-47 assault rifle.
The Americans hit back by firing bullets from their MRAP machine gun. The bullets could be seen hitting the balcony of the red building.
The sniper hit back in return, each bullet bearing a message: “You haven’t got me”. A red flash appeared from the muzzle of the sniper’s rifle every time he fired.
Aside from the barrage of bullets from MRAP vehicles, missiles were also fired at the sniper’s building.
While the Americans showed a sense of urgency, crouching near buildings to try to find a direct line of fire to the sniper, two Kurdish fighters calmly sat on the street that had come under fire, and ate rice and beans from a styrofoam plate.
Another Kurdish fighter nearby focused on his black tea kettle, oblivious to the explosions of artillery that were fired towards the sniper.
In the end, the Peshmerga and American special forces seemed to lose patience with the cat-andmouse game, and the row of houses where the sniper was located was hit by three airstrikes. Reuters