U.S. warns of friendly fire as Iraq battlefield shrinks

MOSUL, Iraq — The day after Iraq’s prime minister declared an end to the Islamic State group’s caliphate, U.S. Army Col. Pat Work and a small team of about a dozen soldiers drove through western Mosul in two unmarked armored vehicles to warn Iraqi forces of a pressing threat: friendly fire.

The American Colonel had a series of urgent calls to make: to talk face-to-face with generals from the Iraqi Army, the federal police and the Iraqi special forces. While the gains in the Old City are bringing Iraqi troops closer to victory against Islamic State in Mosul, they also mean the three branches of the country’s security forces are now fighting in closer quarters than ever before. The new battle space and lingering communication shortcomings mean Iraqi ground troops are at increased risk of being hit by nonprecision fire like mortars and artillery by their partner Iraqi forces, he explained.

Throughout Friday, Work shuttled between bases and command centers inside the city meeting with Iraqi commanders, underscoring the increasingly prominent U.S. role in the offensive as it enters its final days.

“It’s a very violent close fight,” said Work, the commander of the 82nd Airborne’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team who deployed to Iraq in January. “When the bullets aren’t enough the commanders want to turn to high explosives which might be mortars or artillery ... so understanding where the other guy is all the time is kinda rule number one, so the lethal effect is directed at the target and not accidentally at another player that’s on your team.”

The various forces that make up Iraq’s military have long struggled with coordination. While the Mosul operation is overseen by a joint operations command and the Prime Minister, forces on the ground maintain independent command structures, standards and cultures. The Mosul fight is the first time all three forces have had to cooperate in an urban environment and throughout the operation the army, federal police and special forces have faced deadly setbacks when they acted independently, allowing militants to concentrate their defenses on a single front.

“We’re helping (Iraqi forces) see across the boundaries between their different units... just helping them understand where they are and how rapidly things might be changing.” said Work.

Under the administration of President Trump, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis moved U.S. combat advisers closer to the fight by authorizing U.S. troops to partner with Iraqi forces at the battalion level.

The U.S.-led coalition’s fight against Islamic State in Iraq has slowly expanded over the past three years from a campaign of air strikes to an operation with some 6,000 American troops on the ground, many operating close to frontline fighting.