Longer, Bloodier Fight for Mosul as ISIS Adopt Horrific New Tactics

Dozens of people arrived in a mosque to offer condolences to the family of Brigadier Hamid Birmous.

Brigadier Hamid Birmous was recently killed in action during the Iraqi Securty Forces attempt to retake the city of Mosul.

“I would need days to talk about his life. He was a hero,” said by Iraqi Sergeant Hermen Idress, the dead brigadier’s nephew.

Idriss has been fighting ISIS for a long time and said the bomb that killed his uncle was a kind he hadn’t seen before.

The Iraqi security forces supported by different branches including advisors from the U.S. led coalition have been preparing months for this offensive.

Iraqi Prime Minister and U.S. officials said that operations are on track. However earlier this week, some Iraqi officials told National Public Radio (NPR) that operations would take weeks. But after the recent chaotic battle, Idriss disagrees.

“They are fighting a tough fight, and that means it will take longer,” he added.

In recent weeks, ISIS has been delaying the advancing Iraqi forces, by sending dozens of trucks, car bombs and suicide bombers, planting network of mines, setting mortars and snipers.

Over the past years, Iraqi security forces have known where ISIS Fighters are located and also have intelligence about what they have been planning.

Nevertheless, Iraqi commander Jamal al Amenki says they weren’t expecting attacks on this magnitude.

“We knew all their tactics. We knew that when we started to attack them, they would also fight us — and we knew where they were.”

Mosul honeycombed by booby traps and tunnels

He believes that during the past two years, the front line had barely moved which gave ISIS extremist plenty of time to build tunnels, bombs, and booby traps, laying them at night.

ISIS does not directly engage the advancing forces. Their strategy is to delay the attackers then slowly exterminate them using traps and suicide bombers.

No one knows the exact number of casualties, but soldiers speaking unofficially and anonymously says dozens have died this week.

Mosul, home to over 2.5 million people is also the birth-place of the ISIS caliphate. Hence, it is the most important city for the extremist group.

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