Retaking Mosul from jihadists could change US presidential poll

NEW YORK: As preparations intensify for a major military operation to free Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, from the grip of Daesh (Islamic State), sources say the US-led operation could be launched on October 15 – and impact the US election.

A source in contact with Mosul residents said Daesh, or ISIS, militants have virtually disappeared from the city’s streets. Before they were out in numbers enforcing their extreme rule (you could be executed for smoking a cigarette) but now they are hardly to be seen.

The residents aren’t sure what’s going on. But it could mean Daesh fighters have begun evacuating. This is also what happened in June when, after initial fighting, IS deserted Fallujah when the Iraqi army and Shia militias freed the city.

Last month, IS extremists also abandoned the oil town of Qayyara just 77km south of Mosul ahead of advancing Iraqi army units.

Preparations are being made outside Erbil for an influx of refugees from Mosul that could number up to 500 000. Another million people could flee elsewhere to the Kurdish region. The US is sending 600 more troops to help co-ordinate logistics for the attack. There are already 4400 US troops throughout Iraq.

The liberation of Mosul, especially without a fight, could figure into the US presidential election on November 8. It could be trumpeted as a major victory for the legacy of Obama’s beleaguered foreign policy. It could boost Hillary Clinton’s candidacy, closely associated with the Obama White House and undermine Donald Trump criticising the Obama administration’s failure to deliver a knockout punch to the extremists.