Iraqi forces make gains in battle to recapture Mosul

QAYYARAH: Iraqi forces were making gains as tens of thousands of fighters advanced on Mosul on Tuesday in an unprecedented offensive to retake the city from the

QAYYARAH: Iraqi forces were making gains as tens of thousands of fighters advanced on Mosul on Tuesday in an unprecedented offensive to retake the city from the Islamic State group.

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With the crucial battle in its second day, Iraqi commanders said progress was being made as fighters pushed on two main fronts against the jihadists’ last stronghold in Iraq.

The US military, which is leading a coalition providing air and ground support, said Iraqi forces even looked “ahead of schedule” but senior Western officials warned the battle would be long and difficult.

Advancing in armoured convoys across the dusty plains surrounding Mosul, forces moved into villages defended by pockets of IS fighters after intensive aerial bombardment.

At the main staging base for government troops in Qayyarah south of Mosul, federal police were rotating in and out of the front line. As Apache attack helicopters flew overhead, ambulances brought the wounded back from the battle.

Two armoured vehicles bearing US flags drove by, apparently carrying American military personnel. One manning a gun turret flashed the victory sign.

Speaking to AFP from inside Mosul, resident Abu Saif said heavy smoke was hanging over the city as the jihadists burned tyres to shield themselves from air strikes.

While the sounds of explosions could be heard coming from outside the city, its streets were eerily quiet, the 47-year-old former company manager said. - ‘Empty streets’ “The streets are empty, the people have been staying at home since the strikes started yesterday,” Abu Saif said.

“There is this happiness inside us... because we feel that we are about to be rescued,” he said.

“But we are scared that Daesh (IS) can still carry out acts of revenge against the population.”

The long-awaited Mosul offensive was launched on Monday, with some 30,000 federal forces leading Iraq’s largest military operation since the 2011 pull-out of US troops.

Retaking Mosul would deprive IS of the last major Iraqi city under its control, dealing a fatal blow to the “caliphate” the jihadists declared two years ago after seizing large parts of Iraq and neighbouring Syria.

Iraqi commanders said IS fighters were hitting back with suicide car bomb attacks but that the offensive was going as planned. “Many villages have already been liberated,” said Sabah al-Numan, the spokesman of the elite counter-terrorism service. “Iraqi forces have achieved their goals and even more, but we’re careful to stick to the plan and not rush this.”