Iraqi forces gain ground but Al Jazeera reporter says advance is "less formidable" on day two of anti-ISIL operation.
Tens of thousands of allied forces continued their advance on Mosul on Tuesday, but their offensive to retake ISIL's last major stronghold in Iraq was slowed down by explosives and booby traps they encountered along the way.
With the decisive battle in its second day, Iraqi commanders said that progress was being made as their forces pushed from two main fronts against ISIL, also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIS.
The commanders said the operation was going as planned, despite resistance from ISIL fighters who were hitting back with suicide car bomb attacks.
"Many villages have already been liberated," said Sabah al-Numan, the spokesman of the elite counter-terrorism service.
"Iraqi forces have achieved their goals and even more, but we're careful to stick to the plan and not rush this."
ISIL forces are believed to be vastly outnumbered, with the US military calculating 3,000 to 4,500 fighters in and around Mosul, compared with an estimated 30,000 Iraqi army troops, Kurdish Peshmerga fighters and Sunni tribal forces.
Al Jazeera's Hoda Abdel-Hamid, reporting from Khazir near the frontline, said the armed forces' advance on Tuesday was "not as formidable" as the previous day, when several villages were secured.
Our correspondent said that Peshmerga fighters had reached an area just 20km outside of the Mosul city centre, but they were still unable to control it.
Khalil Miro, a colonel of the Kurdish Peshmerga, told Al Jazeera that ISIL remains holed up in the district of Hamdaniya.
"We won't move to Hamdaniya. This will require cooperation with the Iraqi army. We will stay in this area," Miro said.
Al Jazeera's Abdel-Hamid said the second day of the offensive involved "more consolidation" of the positions gained on Monday.
"There has been some little gains today, and not as formidable as the ones we have seen yesterday, mainly to the west of Erbil," she said.
Abdel-Hamid said that Peshmerga fighters had to avoid main roads, taking instead the dirt paths to avoid explosives.
"So every village they will go through, even if the ISIL fighters have already left, it takes them a while to get in," she said, adding that the clearing would take some time.
"ISIL were on those villages for more than two years, and were ruling those villages. They had a lot of time to set all their booby traps, so it's going to be extremely difficult."
Bartella, another town on the way to Mosul, was still under ISIL control, our correspondent said.
Two main fronts
There are two main fronts the allied forces are pushing from: one from the south in Qayyarah, and another in the east, where another offensive involving Kurdish Peshmerga fighters is under way.
In the south, forces inching forward along the River Tigris were aiming for the village of Hammam al-Alil, while units east of Mosul were close to Qaraqosh, once Iraq's biggest Christian town.
Tens of thousands of allied forces continued their advance on Mosul on Tuesday, but their offensive to retake ISIL's last major stronghold in Iraq was slowed down by explosives and booby traps they encountered along the way.
With the decisive battle in its second day, Iraqi commanders said that progress was being made as their forces pushed from two main fronts against ISIL, also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIS.
The commanders said the operation was going as planned, despite resistance from ISIL fighters who were hitting back with suicide car bomb attacks.
"Many villages have already been liberated," said Sabah al-Numan, the spokesman of the elite counter-terrorism service.
"Iraqi forces have achieved their goals and even more, but we're careful to stick to the plan and not rush this."
ISIL forces are believed to be vastly outnumbered, with the US military calculating 3,000 to 4,500 fighters in and around Mosul, compared with an estimated 30,000 Iraqi army troops, Kurdish Peshmerga fighters and Sunni tribal forces.
Al Jazeera's Hoda Abdel-Hamid, reporting from Khazir near the frontline, said the armed forces' advance on Tuesday was "not as formidable" as the previous day, when several villages were secured.
Our correspondent said that Peshmerga fighters had reached an area just 20km outside of the Mosul city centre, but they were still unable to control it.
Khalil Miro, a colonel of the Kurdish Peshmerga, told Al Jazeera that ISIL remains holed up in the district of Hamdaniya.
"We won't move to Hamdaniya. This will require cooperation with the Iraqi army. We will stay in this area," Miro said.
Al Jazeera's Abdel-Hamid said the second day of the offensive involved "more consolidation" of the positions gained on Monday.
"There has been some little gains today, and not as formidable as the ones we have seen yesterday, mainly to the west of Erbil," she said.
Abdel-Hamid said that Peshmerga fighters had to avoid main roads, taking instead the dirt paths to avoid explosives.
"So every village they will go through, even if the ISIL fighters have already left, it takes them a while to get in," she said, adding that the clearing would take some time.
"ISIL were on those villages for more than two years, and were ruling those villages. They had a lot of time to set all their booby traps, so it's going to be extremely difficult."
Bartella, another town on the way to Mosul, was still under ISIL control, our correspondent said.
Two main fronts
There are two main fronts the allied forces are pushing from: one from the south in Qayyarah, and another in the east, where another offensive involving Kurdish Peshmerga fighters is under way.
In the south, forces inching forward along the River Tigris were aiming for the village of Hammam al-Alil, while units east of Mosul were close to Qaraqosh, once Iraq's biggest Christian town.
 |
| The United Nations fears that up to one million residents of Mosul could flee their homes because of the fighting |
Comments
Post a Comment