Iraqi forces launched a long-awaited offensive early Monday to
push Islamic State from Mosul, as thousands of government troops
and Kurdish fighters advanced toward the outskirts of the
militant-held city.
Flanked by senior Iraqi military commanders, Prime Minister
Haider al-Abadi went on national television to announce the start
of the operation to retake Iraq's second-largest city from Islamic
State, declaring, "The hour of victory has sounded and the Mosul
liberation operation has started."
Within hours, the military said, Iraqi army troops were moving
on the Bartalaa area at the edge of the northern Iraqi city, which
has been under Islamic State control for more than two years.
Some 5,000 Kurdish Peshmerga forces in armored Humvees and other
troop carriers were also advancing on the area, according to a
local commander. U.S. troops working with the Kurds were aboard a
number of the vehicles.
Peshmerga engineers in bulldozers built berms and dug trenches
to protect newly-controlled Kurdish territory from Islamic State
car bombers.
As the operation got under way, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash
Carter called it a "decisive moment" in the campaign to defeat the
militant group.
"The United States and the rest of the international coalition
stand ready to support Iraqi Security Forces, Peshmerga fighters
and the people of Iraq in the difficult fight ahead," Mr. Carter
said.
Reclaiming Mosul is seen as essential to the broader battle
against Islamic State. The Islamist militant group has suffered a
string of losses recently in its self-declared caliphate, including
on Sunday, when Syrian rebels backed by Turkey and the U.S. drove
the militants from the Syrian town of Dabiq.
The assault on Mosul comes after months during which Iraqi
forces have tried to capitalize on discontent with Islamic State's
harsh rule to turn locals against the group and seek aid for Iraqi
forces. In some cases, Iraq has supplied arms to residents.
Mass defections, internal rivalries and an increasing defiance
among Mosul's estimated 1.2 million residents have contributed to a
sense of confidence inside Iraq's military.
Still, Iraqi and American officials expect a tough fight, with a
specific concern that a desperate group of fighters will attempt to
use the city's inhabitants as human shields. Aid agencies and the
United Nations are bracing for an expected exodus that could exceed
their resources.
Stephen O'Brien, the U.N. under-secretary-general for
humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, warned that
the agency didn't have sufficient funds to prepare fully for "the
worst-case scenario" of estimated one million displaced people.
"Families are at extreme risk of being caught in crossfire or
targeted by snipers," he said.
The fight to reclaim Mosul is also a test of Iraq's ability to
remain united. The city is majority Sunni Muslim, but is located in
one of the country's most diverse regions and was once home to many
of Iraq's smaller ethnic minorities.
Islamic State, a Sunni-led group, sent shock waves through the
region when it captured Mosul in June 2014 in a blitz that saw
Iraq's military and police melt away despite billions of dollars
spent by the U.S. to train and equip government forces.
It was in Mosul later that month that Islamic State leader Abu
Bakr al-Baghdadi made his first and only public appearance, giving
a Friday prayer sermon in one of the city's grandest mosques. There
he designated Mosul the self-declared caliphate's Iraqi capital, a
home for both the group's leadership and families of thousands of
its foreign fighters.
The Iraqi military has since recovered and is riding a wave of
momentum in which they have evicted Islamic State from major cities
including Sinjar, Beiji, Ramadi and Fallujah since the end of last
year.
Kurdish Peshmerga fighters and local Sunni tribal fighters are
participating in the Mosul offensive, while Iran-backed Shiite
militias have been tasked with securing areas south of the
city.
Just before Mr. Abadi's announcement, Peshmerga forces massed
outside Mosul appeared buoyant and eager to launch the operation,
as jet fighters and helicopters traversed the night sky.
Many fighters said they were unable to sleep, too excited over
engaging Islamic State in what they considered their last stand
against the militants.
Iraq's military said it expects Islamic State to put up a stiff
resistance, using booby traps, suicide vehicle attacks, snipers and
human shields to repel the onslaught, taking advantage of Mosul's
dense urban architecture and population.
A mid-ranking Islamic State commander said in an interview over
Facebook that the group has made a tactical decision to partially
abandon Mosul, recalling their "human resources" to Syria where
they hope to strengthen their foothold.
"There will be no big great epic battle in Mosul," the commander
said. "The tactic now is hit-and-run."
Unlike previous fights to dislodge Islamic State from Iraqi
cities, this fight is the first time Iraq's various armed groups
have been tasked with working together.
In the weeks leading up to the battle, Iran-backed Shiite
militias jockeyed for a more prominent role in the fight. They
proved to be formidable soldiers in retaking other Iraqi cities,
including Tikrit and Fallujah, earning political influence and
popularity among Iraq's Shiite majority.
The militias' demands followed a public spat between Turkey and
the Baghdad government over the presence of Turkish troops near
Mosul. Ankara's insisted that its forces wouldn't withdraw, and
would hold sway over the campaign to reclaim Mosul.
But Iraqi Sunnis and the U.S. have tried to keep the militias
away from Iraq's Sunni heartland following allegations of
widespread revenge killings and detentions of Sunni men the
militias accuse of being Islamic State sympathizers.
Eleventh-hour negotiations in early October by Mr. Abadi with
the disparate armed groups restored the original battle plan, which
calls for only Iraq's military and allied Sunni tribal fighters to
enter the city.
Write to Tamer El-Ghobashy at tamer.el-ghobashy@wsj.com and Ben
Kesling at benjamin.kesling@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 17, 2016 07:35 ET (11:35 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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