Battle for Mosul Gains Ground as Iraqi Forces Enter the City

On Monday, Iraqi troops broke through ISIS lines of defense in the eastern suburb of Mosul. For the first time, the advancing Iraqi forces entered the city, taking the battle to the terrorists’ doorstep.

The breakthrough is considered the largest military operation since Saddam Hussein’s capture in 2003. The Iraqi forces supported by Washington entered the city of Mosul. Iraqi commanders said the battle to retake the city could take months.

Iraqi’s Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) troops advanced on Gogjali, an industrial zone on the eastern part of Mosul.

CTS commander Lieutenant-General Abdul Ghani al-Assadi said in an interview conducted by a state television that his forces had reached the Karama district inside the insurgent’s occupied city.

Kurdish Peshmerga Intelligence said they have received reports saying 7 ISIS militants were killed in the district of Aden, 2 of their vehicles were also destroyed.

An Iraqi state television also reported that residents of the city were rising up against the Islamic state fighters. Some of these mutineers allegedly opened fired on an Islamic State Police unit in Intisaar district, in Karama.

No one has confirmed the “uprising reports” but the Iraqi forces and its U.S. allies are hoping this insurrection could help them retake the city. ISIS seized Mosul in 2014 declaring it as a “Caliphate” to rule over all Muslims.

Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said the Iraqi forces are now closing off all routes going out Mosul, to avoid thousands of ISIS fighters escaping from the city.
“God willing, we will chop off the snake’s head,” he added.

“They have no escape, they either die or surrender.”

Last October 17, the Iraqi Forces joined by Kurdish Peshmerga Fighters started their offensive against the Islamic State fighters. They were provided with ground and air support from a U.S. led anti-ISIS coalition.

U.S. anti-ISIS coalition deputy commander, British Major General Rupert Jones told Reuters, “They are making deliberate progress, they’re on their timeline.”

Anti-Islamic state fighters ranging about 50,000 troops are now storming the city’s outskirts as they strategically enter Mosul.

The Islamic State forces have been avoiding a direct fight with any militants advancing into the city. Instead, they are sending suicide cars, deploying snipers and mortars.

On Monday, the Islamic State said they have carried out “suicide operations” against the advancing forces. However, they failed to mention any casualty.

U.N. officials and some villagers said the terrorist group brought thousands of displaced civilians toward Mosul. The militants were using them as “human shields” to cover their retreat.

They also have set some properties on fire to create a ‘smokescreen,’ setting the whole region on smoke.

U.N.’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said, “the scorched earth tactics employed by retreating ISIL members are having an immediate health impact on civilians, and risk long-term environmental and health consequences.”

No one from both forces has given any number of casualty, but both claim they have killed thousands of their opponents.

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UN, US Request For Aid to Pour In Yemen as Houthi Support Truce

The Houti-controlled administration of Yemen accepted a 72-hour ceasefire beginning on Wednesday. The break in fighting is aimed to allow help to reach areas isolated by months of conflict. These places seriously require humanitarian aid.

A governing council comprised of the Iranian-aligned Houthi group and influential local allies insisted a Saudi-backed Arab coalition halt military attacks. They should also revoke restrictions on air, sea and land transport. It was the council’s first statement on the truce.

A cessation of hostilities between the warring factions will start at 2359 local time (2059 GMT) on Wednesday, the United Nations said on Monday. The truce raises hopes of an end to a conflict that has killed thousands of civilians and left people starving.

The council made know its “positive engagement” with the ceasefire plan. It added that Yemen needed an immediate, comprehensive, and lasting truce without preconditions. This includes what it called an end to the blockade of the Yemeni people.

During the ceasefire, aid agencies may attempt to get to families trapped in villages and towns. The areas where fighting and coalition-enforced travel restrictions left residents short of food and in critical need of medical supplies.

“Hopefully, this nationwide cessation will provide humanitarian agencies and organizations the opportunity to respond in areas that have been cut off or hard to reach in all of Yemen,” UN’s Yemen Humanitarian Coordinator Jamie McGoldrick said.

All combatants to cease hostilities and military movement

US Secretary of State John Kerry said in Washington that the ceasefire necessitates all parties to stop military activities. They should also help expedite the distribution of humanitarian assistance.

Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies have implemented air strikes and positioned troops in Yemen in backing the exiled government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. The Houthi’s toppled Hadi’s administration in 2015.

The 19-month long war has worsened Yemen’s already critical humanitarian needs by raising levels of malnutrition and enlistment of child soldiers. Furthermore, the fighting inflicted damage on schools and infrastructure.

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