Mosul Today: Iraq special forces enter outskirts of Mosul

BAGHDAD – Iraq’s special forces entered the outskirts of Mosul on Tuesday, taking the state television building and advancing despite fierce resistance by the Islamic State group fighters who hold the city.

It was the first time in over two years that Iraqi troops have set foot inside the city, Iraq’s second largest. The advance could be the start of a grueling and slow operation for the troops, who will be forced to engage in difficult, house-to-house fighting in urban areas that is expected to take weeks, if not months.

Here is a look at the main developments on the 16th day of the Mosul Offensive:

INSIDE CITY OUTSKIRTS

Troops entered Gogjali, a semi-rural neighbourhood inside Mosul’s city limits, and later the perimeter of the more urban Karama district, according to Maj. Gen. Sami al-Aridi of the Iraqi special forces. As the sun went down, a sandstorm blew in, reducing visibility to only 100 metres (110 yards) and bringing the day’s combat to an end.

Later, al-Aridi said the troops had taken the nearby state television building, the only one in the province, and that heavy fighting broke out when they tried to continue farther in to more urban areas. An official casualty report has yet to be given, but officers mentioned one dead and one wounded.

Tuesday’s battle saw Iraqi artillery, tank and machine-gun fire strike IS positions on the edge of Gogjali, with the extremists responding with guided anti-tank missiles and small arms in an attempt to block the advance. Airstrikes by the U.S.-led coalition supporting the operation also targeted the district.

COALITON SAYS NO WAY OUT FOR IS

Spokesman Col. John Dorrian said that the U.S.-led coalition, which co-ordinates all its attacks with the Iraqis, is observing the battlefield with many “eyes in the sky” and that IS forces can no longer move in large numbers without attracting attention. Fighters who resist will be killed, and those who run will be captured or killed, he said.

In a statement, the coalition said that a day earlier it had launched six strikes in the Mosul area, destroying 10 vehicles, including one carrying explosives, as well as a bomb-making facility. It also said it damaged 20 vehicles and a tunnel.

From the nearest village east of Mosul, Bazwaya, smoke could be seen rising from buildings in Gogjali, where shells and bombs had landed. IS fighters also lit special fires to produce dark smoke in order to obscure the aerial view of the city.

VILLAGERS DISPLACED

Inside the village of Bazwaya just east of Mosul, white flags still hung from some buildings, put up a day earlier by residents eager to show they would not resist the Iraqi forces’ advance. Some residents stood outside their homes, and children raised their hands with V-for-victory signs.

The families, estimated to number in the hundreds, are to be evacuated to a camp for displaced persons. As the fighting raged, several of the newly displaced from Bazwaya could be seen carrying white flags and driving a herd of some 150 sheep toward the camp.

OVERALL DEATH TOLL JUMPS IN OCTOBER

Violence is still rampant across the country, with killings worsening in October, the United Nations said. In a monthly report released by the U.N. Assistance Mission for Iraq, it said 1,792 people were killed in violence in Iraq in October, up from 1,003 the previous month. 1,120 of the dead were civilians.

The worst-hit city is Baghdad with 268 civilians killed and 807 wounded, while the militant-held Ninevah province comes next, with 566 killed and 59 wounded. The U.N. didn’t say whether the Mosul operation was directly related to the casualties in Ninevah, its surrounding province.