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| Iraq |
| One million civilians caught in crossfire as offensive begins to evict ISIS from Mosul |
| 2016-10-17 |
| [RUDAW.NET] A 30,000-strong Iraqi and Kurdish force has launched its offensive against an estimated 3,000 to 4,500 ISIS turbans in djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... , where approximately 1 million civilians are caught in the middle, eager to be freed from the brutal rule of the self-proclaimed Caliphate. Estimates of the number of ISIS turbans in Mosul have steadily dropped over the months. In early March, Col. Christopher Garver, spokesperson for the US-led anti-ISIS coalition, estimated that there were less than 10,000 turbans in the city. More recently, another coalition spokesperson Col. John Dorrian said there are between 3,000 and 4,500 ISIS fighters in Mosul, both foreign and local. Some have been killed - coalition Many ISIS leaders have fled the city with their families in anticipation of the military offensive, Iraq’s then minister of defence, Khalid al-Obeidi, said in July, noting that most were going to Syria. Others have deserted the Death Eater group and fled, with ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... the most popular destination. "This very morning, three ISIS fighters have fled to Turkey," the Mosul Eye, a blogger in Mosul and one of the few sources of information from the city, told Rudaw English earlier this month. They were local recruits, he added. Those turbans remaining in the city are largely young, inexperienced Mosul teenagers. The Mosul Eye estimated that 90 percent of the turbans who contributed to building the Caliphate are now gone - including the many Saudi fighters that once filled Mosul’s streets. The few that remain have again filled the streets, putting on a show of force for the civilian population. "They want to show themselves that they are ready and strong. But this is not true, many of the fighters are teenagers," locally recruited, the Mosul Eye said. The large proportion of local fighters may bode well for hopes of a quick offensive if the liberation of Qayyara is any indication. When Iraqi forces retook the city in August, local ISIS turbans deserted and only the foreigners stayed, fighting to their deaths, residents of the city told Rudaw. "The foreign ISIS turbans were the real fighters and many of those ready to become jacket wallahs were from La Belle France and the Caucasus," said Omer Ibrahim, a Qayyara resident. "The local ISIS turbans were deserting the battlefields." "It was at 10pm when the ISIS turbans deployed in the streets. The foreign turbans went to the forefront to halt any advance from the Iraqi army," said Mustafa Ali, another Qayyara native. "But at 12am, the Iraqi ISIS turbans together with their families and civilians all fled to Hamam Ali. Only the imported muscle stayed and did not give up." Some of the civilians living in Mosul are prepared to fight ISIS, a man from Mosul told Rudaw English. He is living in Erbil and spoke on condition of anonymity to protect his family and friends still in the city and with whom he is in contact. People in some neighbourhoods have weapons in their homes, AK-47s and pistols, and are waiting for the offensive to begin, before they rise up and fight. U.S.: Proud to stand with allies in offensive to retake Iraq's Mosul [Rooters] The United States said on Sunday it was proud to stand with its allies after Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced the start of an offensive to retake Mosul, the capital of Islamic State's so-called caliphate in Iraq. "PM Abadi issued orders to initiate major operations to liberate Mosul after two years of darkness under ISIL terrorists," Brett McGurk, the U.S. envoy to the coalition against Islamic State, said in a message on Twitter. "Godspeed to the heroic Iraqi forces, Kurdish Peshmerga, and Ninewa volunteers. We are proud to stand with you in this historic operation," McGurk said. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #6 Nothing |
| Posted by: chris 2016-10-17 19:18 |
| #5 Turks, Peshmerga, Iranians, Iraqis, US SOF, French...all surround this city as the attack begins. The Iraqis threaten both the Turks and YPG...the Turks hate just about everyone in this mix, the Sunni in the city will rise up in the thousands to fight the Iranians and their militias...ISIS is already sending the suicide bombers out by the dozens today...what could go wrong? |
| Posted by: Tennessee 2016-10-17 09:57 |
| #4 "Godspeed to the heroic Iraqi forces, Kurdish Peshmerga, and Ninewa volunteers. We are proud to stand with you in this historic operation," McGurk said. "And hopefully it'll be done before the elections," he added under his breath. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2016-10-17 08:09 |
| #3 One million visas to Europe? |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2016-10-17 06:46 |
| #2 Pogroms here we come. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2016-10-17 05:56 |
| #1 A million civilians and 4000 ISIS? A lot of those civilians must be supporting ISIS or this would have been over a while ago. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2016-10-17 00:28 |