Jihadists shift hideouts as Mosul faces attack
Iraqi forces fire a M109 self-propelled howitzer towards the village of Al-Muftuya from a position in Kani al-Harami, some 35 kilometres of Mosul, on October 19, 2016, during an operation against Islamic State (IS) group jihadists to retake the main hub city. PHOTO | AFP
What you need to know:
- The sounds of fighting on the northern and eastern fronts of the Mosul offensive could now be heard inside the city, residents said, and US-led coalition aircraft were flying lower over it than usual.
- About 3,000 to 5,000 IS fighters are believed to be inside Mosul, Iraq’s second city, alongside more than a million trapped civilians.
KHAZIR, IRAQ
Jihadists with the Islamic State group are shaving their beards and changing hideouts in Mosul, residents say, as a major Iraqi offensive moves ever closer to the city.
With pressure building on the 10th day of the Mosul assault, Western defence chiefs were already looking ahead to the next target — IS’ other major stronghold of Raqa in Syria.
Recent advances on the eastern front have brought elite Iraqi forces to within five kilometres of Mosul, and residents reached by AFP said the jihadists seemed to be preparing for an assault on the city itself.
“I saw some Daesh (IS) members and they looked completely different from the last time I saw them,” eastern Mosul resident Abu Saif said.
“They had trimmed their beards and changed clothes,” the former businessman said. “They must be scared ... they are also probably preparing to flee the city.”
Residents and military officials said many IS fighters had relocated within Mosul, moving from the east to their traditional bastions on the western bank of the Tigris River, closer to escape routes to Syria.
The sounds of fighting on the northern and eastern fronts of the Mosul offensive could now be heard inside the city, residents said, and US-led coalition aircraft were flying lower over it than usual.
Tens of thousands of Iraqi fighters have been advancing on Mosul from the south, east and north after an offensive was launched on October 17 to retake the last major Iraqi city under IS control.
The assault is backed by air and ground support from the US-led coalition — which also includes Britain and France — which launched a campaign against the Islamists two years ago.
Iraqi federal forces, allied with Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, have taken a string of towns and villages in a cautious but steady advance over the past week, in the face of shelling, sniper fire and suicide car bombings.
About 3,000 to 5,000 IS fighters are believed to be inside Mosul, Iraq’s second city, alongside more than a million trapped civilians.
With the noose tightening on Mosul, officials from the 60-nation anti-IS coalition have increasingly pointed to the next phase of the fight.
Both US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter and British counterpart Michael Fallon said they expected an offensive on Raqa to be launched within weeks.
“That has long been our plan and we will be capable of resourcing both,” Carter told NBC News.
