RAF pounds IS in battle to retake Mosul
BRITISH warplanes and drones joined local forces in their battle to liberate the Iraqi city of Mosul yesterday, inflicting bloodshed on Islamic State fighters.
Up to 30,000 soldiers plus special forces had been moved to their forward staging areas before being given the green light to attack at midnight on Sunday.
Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said with UK help, Iraqi forces ‘will prevail’ and Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said: ‘The hour of victory has come.’
But there were fears for the 1.5million people trapped in the city and warnings there could be bloodshed on a ‘massive scale’.
Military commanders warned residents to stay inside and put white flags on their homes amid concerns that IS could use them as human shields.
Yesterday RAF Typhoon jets and Reaper drones fired missiles and dropped bombs at IS targets around Mosul, paving the way for local forces.
By sunrise, hundreds of Kurdish peshmerga fighters had advanced in gun trucks and armoured vehicles along roads laden with booby traps and roadside bombs.
British special forces, who have been helping local soldiers prepare for this battle, and elite troops from other countries were understood to be acting as ‘spotters’ to identify targets for RAF jets.
The IS militants have fortified the city’s defences in recent months, building concrete blast walls, digging trenches and preparing chemical weapons. Mosul, captured by IS fighters in 2014, is their last major stronghold in Iraq. A government victory would be hugely significant.
Speaking from the frontline, Major General Sardar Karem told the Mail: ‘Islamic State fighters have been defeated from nine villages. We will win with the Coalition’s help. The more help we have from the British, the less of our men that will be martyred.’
Mr Fallon added: ‘Mosul is a large and complex city and operations there will be tough but with Coalition support Iraqi forces will prevail.’
The UN has expressed ‘extreme concern’ for the safety of up to 1.5million people in the area. Save the Children said the lives of more than 500,000 children ‘hung in the balance’.
A spokesman said: ‘Many families will have no choice but to stay and risk being killed.
‘Without immediate action to ensure people can flee safely, we are likely to see bloodshed of civilians on a massive scale.’
The operation is expected to take weeks. The top Coalition officer in Iraq, US Major General Gary Volesky, said: ‘Mosul will be a hard fight but the Iraqi security forces are ready. They’ve been waiting to liberate Mosul for two years and today is the day.’