Saturday, June 24, 2017

Mosul Campaign Day 250 Jun 23 2017


Movement in west Mosul was slow for the day. The Federal Police freed a church in Bab al-Baid, one of the entrances to the Old City district, and were still working their way through Farouq. There was heavy fighting in Bab al-Lakash, Sargakhana, and a few others areas of the district as well. Shifa, which is north of the Old City along the Tigris River was declared freed two times before, but the Rapid Reaction Division is still struggling to clear some buildings there in the medical complex. Overall, the Iraq authorities are hoping to declare the city freed by Eid, which is only a few days away. That’s probably being overly optimistic as there is still a lot of hard fighting ahead.

The Islamic State carried out a number of attacks throughout Mosul. A suicide bomber was hiding amongst people fleeing in west Mosul and killed 12 and wounded 20. Three other suicide bombers set off their devices inside Muthanna market in the Nabi Younis neighborhood in the east side of the city leaving 15 fatalities and 30 injured. A fifth suicide bomber was killed in the Sumer district. IS mortar fire also hit a market in Jadida in the west with 10 dead and 40 wounded. The bombings were a warning to the security forces that infiltrations and sleeper cells are still active in the city. There are several different security forces operating in Mosul, and the National Intelligence Service is specifically tasked with hunting down IS elements. The problem is that there is little to no cooperation between them, and those gaps can be exploited by the insurgents.

People continue to flee the fighting in west Mosul. The United Nations counted a total of 432,726 displaced (IDPs). From June 14-21 around 20,000 came out of the Old City district. 12,000 of them went directly to east Mosul via a pontoon bridge. Aid groups said many of the people were injured and overwhelmed the medical teams in the east side of the city. While the numbers have not been as large as many groups warned about they have been overwhelming for the government and relief groups. There has been a struggle to accommodate and care for all of them.

SOURCES

Agence France Presse, "Suicide bomber kills 12, injures 20 in Mosul," 6/23/17

Baghdad Post, “Iraq FPC says recaptured ISIS-held church in Mosul,” 6/23/17

Bas News, "39 killed and wounded by two simultaneous suicide attacks on a popular market in Mosul," 6/23/17

Buratha News, “Rapid Response Division encircles Republican Hospital in Mosul,” 6/23/17

Chmaytelli, Maher, “Iraqi forces battle towards heart of Mosul’s Old City,” Reuters, 6/23/17

Al Ghad Press, "Security forces kill suicide bomber in Sumer district in Mosul," 6/23/17

Iraq Newspaper, "Iraqi Newspaper Reporter In Mosul: Daash Terrorists Attack Iraqi Forces In Al-Muthti District On Left Coast," 6/24/17
- “Iraqi Newspaper Reporter In Mosul: Very Fierce Battles In Bab Lakash and Bab Beid,” 6/23/17

Al Mayadeen, "Al-Mayadeen correspondent: A second suicide bombing targeting civilians in market in Prophet Younis within the left bank of Mosul," 6/23/17
- “Al-Mayadeen reporter: Federal police elite commando forces liberate Chamoun Church in Bab El-Beid,” 6/23/17

Mostafa, Mohamed, “50 civilian casualties in Mosul shelling, 200 rescued,” Iraqi News, 6/23/17

Al Noorn News, "Medical source: killing and wounding 50 civilians when a shell landed on a market in al-Jadida Mosul," 6/23/17

Shafaaq News, “Iraqi forces are crawling towards the heart of ancient Mosul,” 6/23/17
- “Iraqi forces move in depth into the south and west of old city Mosul,” 6/23/17

UN High Commissioner for Refugees, “Iraq Situation UNHCR Flash Update – 22 June 2017,” 6/22/17

Waradana, “Fierce battles fought by the Federal Police in Bab al-Baid,” 6/23/17

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