Iraqis: Islamic State has 6,000 fighters in Mosul
Operation to retake city may take months
An Iraqi general said Wednesday that as many as 6,000 Islamic State fighters are inside Mosul, as the massive operation to retake control of the embattled city entered its third day.
Lt. Gen. Talib Shaghati called on Iraqis fighting with the militant group in Mosul to surrender, The Associated Press reported.
Lt. Gen. Qassim al-Maliki, commander of the Iraqi army’s 9th armored division, told CNN that his forces were closing in on the outskirts of Mosul after liberating 13 villages.
He said at least 50 Islamic State fighters and two Iraqi soldiers were killed and dozens of suicide vehicles and numerous improvised explosive devices were destroyed over the past 48 hours.
Another Iraqi official told CNN that government soldiers were surrounded by militants near the village of Al Absi.
The Islamic State group captured Mosul in June 2014. The military operation to retake Iraq’s second-largest city is expected to take weeks or months.
Meanwhile, at least 900 civilians have fled Mosul — the first large group known to have escaped since the government offensive began Monday, the BBC reported.
The civilians are in a refugee camp in neighboring Syria after crossing the border, the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said, according to the BBC.
In the worst-case scenario, more than 1 million civilians could flee Mosul, the U.N. said. Iraqi and Kurdish authorities are setting up a 5,000-tent refugee camp east of Mosul, ready for an influx of people.