ISIL ‘trim beards’ as Iraqis close on Mosul

Residents of beleagured Iraqi city say ‘scared’ militants are ready to flee ahead of a major assault by government forces

KHAZIR, IRAQ // ISIL fighters were shaving their beards and changing hideouts in Mosul, residents said, as Iraqi forces moved ever closer to the city yesterday and civilians fled in growing numbers.

Several residents in Mosul said the extremists seemed to be preparing for an assault after recent advances on the eastern front brought elite Iraqi forces to within five kilometres of the city limits. “I saw some Daesh members and they looked completely different from the last time I saw them,” said a resident of eastern Mosul who gave his name as Abu Saif. “They had trimmed their beards and changed their clothes,” said the former businessman.

“They must be scared ... they are also probably preparing to escape the city.”

Residents and military officials said many ISIL fighters had relocated from eastern Mosul to their traditional bastions on the western bank of the Tigris river, closer to escape routes leading to Syria.

The special forces were undertaking clean-up operations in areas retaken from the militants to the east of the city, where troops uncovered a vast tunnel network used by ISIL to shuttle fighters and supplies by motorcycle, said Maj Salam Al Obeidi.

To the south of Mosul, another Iraqi commander said ISIL had been withdrawing from the town of Al Shura, its stronghold between Mosul and Qayyarah, taking civilians with them to use as human shields and leaving behind explosive booby-traps to slow the troops’ advance. About 3,000 to 5,000 ISIL fighters are believed to still be in Mosul, Iraq’s second city, alongside more than a million trapped civilians.

The sounds of fighting on the northern and eastern fronts of the Mosul offensive could yesterday be heard inside the city, residents said, and aircraft from the US-led coalition were flying much lower over the city than usual.

Tens of thousands of Iraqi fighters have been advancing on Mosul from the south, east and north after the offensive was launched on October 17 to retake the last major Iraqi city under ISIL control. The assault has air and ground support from the coalition, as well as advisers on the ground.

The Iraqi minister for displacement and migration, Jassem Mohammed Al Jaff, said more than 3,300 civilians fleeing the fighting had sought help from the government the day before, the highest number in a single day so far.

Numbers of displaced residents were growing but stood at a relatively low 8,940 yesterday, according to a UN tally, because most of the fighting thus far has taken place in sparsely populated areas.

Civilians in villages located on the eastern outskirts of Mosul were being bussed to a camp near Khazir. “The army made us get out, they told us to leave and said we would see about the details of our settlement,” said 35-yearold Umm Ali.