MOSUL OFFENSIVE SPURS IRAQI CIVILIAN CONCERNS
Iraqi special forces pushing into the eastern outskirts of Mosul fought through sniper fire and bomb-laden streets yesterday, as concerns for civilians mounted in what’s expected to be a long, fierce battle to oust the Islamic State.
With the battle moving into a city of cobblestone pathways and clusters of shops, homes and Muslim shrines, U.S. pilots will “exercise tactical restraint,” according to Lt. Gen. Jeffrey L. Harrigian, the U.S. Air Force commander in the Middle East.
“We’re going to take a look in the area of the target to make sure there are no civilians moving toward the area,” he said. Last week, U.S. warplanes destroyed 40 empty trucks near Mosul that militants planned to use to transport more civilians into the city.
“Our enemies recognize how much of an issue this is for us and how concerned we are about this,” said Gen. Joseph Votel, U.S. commander in the Middle East. “I think trying to keep the population on our side by the way we conduct our operations is very important.”
Civilians trapped by the fighting huddled in their homes. TV footage showed white flags hung by residents from windows and balconies in an effort to stave off strikes aimed at the Islamic State fighters.
The push in to the eastern city limits marks the first time Iraqi
forces have set foot in the city since ISIS ran roughshod over Iraq’s army and police forces in 2014.
The Iraqi special forces — seen as better-trained and more motivated than regular Iraqi troops — yesterday took a state television building from ISIS fighters.
The day’s advance into the city was the start of what is likely to be a grueling and slow operation for the forces facing booby traps and ambushes in difficult, houseto-house fighting that could take weeks, if not months. ISIS has set up concrete walls in parts of the city to slow coalition forces, and laid bombs along roadways leading into the city.
Yesterday’s assault opened with Iraqi artillery, tank and machine gun fire on ISIS positions on the edge of Gogjali, a neighborhood in eastern Mosul, with the extremists firing back with guided anti-tank missiles and small arms. Airstrikes by the U.S.-led coalition pounded the district even as ISIS militants lit tire fires to generate plumes of black smoke to obscure their positions from warplanes.
Meanwhile, a pro-ISIS internet magazine has posted pleas from terror leaders goading lone wolf jihadis sympathizers to lash out in the West while they battle them in Iraq.
“Brave Mosul is bleeding. You should stop its bleeding by carrying out exhaustion operations of the Enemy’s power and blood,” said an article in Nashir magazine. “Cut their heads by your knives, let us hear your guns blasting their heads.” Terror analyst Colin Clarke from the Rand Corp. told the Herald the call for attacks could inspire violence in supporters abroad, especially in Europe.
“I wouldn’t be surprised to see some effort to strike out at Europe,” Clarke said. “One would think, ‘If they had it, they would have done it already.’ But who can dictate what’s happening today and what’s happening tomorrow? It’s very hard to say.”
Clarke said the Islamic State’s renewed lone-wolf recruitment plea likely comes from desperation.
“They are shedding a lot of blood,” Clarke said. “A lot of suicide attacks, they are wasting a lot of guys, less-skilled guys — Saudis, Yemenis, Tunisians. The less-educated, the more religious, they are using as cannon fodder on the front lines.”