Iraqi forces have “liberated” 352 square kilometers of territory south
of Mosul since a wide-ranging military operation began earlier this week
to recapture the city from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
(ISIL), an Iraqi police commander said Oct. 19.
Iraqi forces,
backed by U.S.-led coalition airstrikes, launched a highly anticipated
offensive on Oct. 17 to retake Mosul, which is ISIL’s last stronghold in
northern Iraq, which was overrun by the group in mid-2014.
“Iraqi
forces have managed to clear 352 square kilometers [of ISIL elements]
since the operation began,” Federal Police Commander Lt.-Gen. Raed
Shakir said in statements cited by the Interior Ministry, state-run
Anadolu Agency reported on Oct. 19.
No further details were given by the commander regarding particular areas cleared off ISIL elements.
ISIL
militants have deployed suicide car bombs and fired mortar rounds to
slow down the advance of Iraqi troops outside a key town near the
militant-held city of Mosul, an Iraqi army officer from the 9th Division
told The Associated Press on Oct. 19.
The officer said his
troops were now around a kilometer away from Hamdaniyah, a historically
Christian town also known as Bakhdida.
Since Oct. 18, ISIL has
sent 12 car bombs, all of which were blown up before reaching their
targets, he said, adding that Iraqi troops suffered a small number of
casualties from the mortar rounds. The officer, who spoke on condition
of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to reporters, did not
provide specific figures.
In Washington, Pentagon spokesman Cpt.
Jeff Davis told reporters that it was known that civilians were being
used as human shields.
“This has been going on for several weeks
where we’ve seen civilians being forcibly detained and their movements
being prevented where they can’t get out of Mosul. They are being held
there against their will,” he told reporters.
Around 1.5 million
people still live in Mosul and the International Organization for
Migration (OIM) said ISIL may use tens of thousands of residents as
human shields to hold onto their last stronghold city in Iraq.
The
head of Russia’s General Staff said on Oct. 19 that Moscow was
concerned that militants holed up in Mosul might escape to Syria, saying
they should be killed on the spot instead.
“It’s essential not
to chase the terrorists from one country to another but to destroy them
on the spot,” Valery Gerasimov said in a statement.
This
statement came one day after the Syrian army accused the U.S.-led
coalition of planning to allow ISIL militants to flee Iraq’s city of
Mosul across the Syrian border, saying it would confront this attempt by
all means.
A statement by the army command said the plan
entailed securing roads and safe passages into Syria to allow the
militants to consolidate their presence and create “new battleground
realities” in eastern Syria.
“Any attempt to cross the border is
an attack on the sovereignty of Syria… and would be dealt with all
forces available,” the army statement released on state media said.