The Iraqi army’s armored division is closing in on Mosul’s fringes after sweeping through enemy-controlled land in the past 48 hours, liberating communities village by village, the division’s commander told CNN Wednesday, as the operation to liberate Mosul from the brutal grip of ISIS militants intensifies.
But the Iraqi-led coalition that began the long-awaited offensive on Monday has faced fierce resistance by ISIS in some areas.
Latest developments
Lt Gen Qassim al-Maliki, commander of the Iraqi 9th armored division, told CNN that in the past 48 hours:
The armored division has advanced; it is now three to four miles from the outskirts of Mosul
Three brigades have liberated 13 villages to north and northeast of Quwayr
At least 50 ISIS militants and two Iraqi soldiers have been killed, and 25 soldiers are injured
Dozens of suicide vehicles and a large number of IEDS have been destroyed
Another Iraqi military official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told CNN that Iraqi units fighting around the village of Al Absi have been surrounded by ISIS fighters. Al Absi is near Nimrud, 12 miles (20 kilometers) south of Mosul. The area has seen heavy fighting in the last 36 hours.
Edging closer
“Today we’ve liberated the village of Kani Harami after intense fighting and inflict big losses in Daesh ranks,” al-Maliki said, using an Arabic acronym for ISIS.
“The forces now are dealing with small pockets of Daesh members hiding in makeshift tunnels. Many Daesh militants pulled back to the Abassiya village,” he said, adding that two Iraqi national ISIS members had been captured.
Around 94,000 people — from Iraq’s security forces, the Peshmerga and several paramilitary units — are part of the Iraqi-led coalition to liberate Mosul. They have been making a decisive push toward the city from several fronts.
Al-Maliki’s division is around three to four miles (five to six kilometers) from the city’s outskirts. He explained that progress had slowed as protective forces were needed in newly liberated areas to hold ground.
Al-Maliki’s comments echoes those of Sirwan Barzani, a Peshmerga military commander, who told CNN that the battle to recapture Mosul from ISIS could take two months.
Barzani said it would likely take two weeks for advancing forces to enter the city. Iraq’s leaders have said that only Iraqi government troops and national police officers will be allowed to do so amid fears of sectarian retribution, he said.
The coalition’s 94,000 members vastly outnumber their opponents. But ISIS, which has known the push was coming, has constructed elaborate defenses, including a network of tunnels. Coalition forces will also likely face suicide bombs, car bombs and booby traps.
Up to 5,000 ISIS fighters are in Mosul, a US military official said. ISIS’ supporters put the number at 7,000.
Freed but still afraid
Residents from freed villages — Iraqi flags waving from their buildings — have started to cautiously celebrate. In one newly-freed village on the outskirts of Mosul, people have fled in panic as rumors swirled that ISIS was coming back.
Al-Adla, which is about 31 miles (50 kilometers) southeast of Mosul, had been retaken by the 9th armored division, which had marked it free of ISIS and moved on, to liberate other small settlements in the area.
Around 200 of them fled to hide out in a sand berms. Among a group of women there, some told CNN they saw ISIS fighters reemerge from orchards.
“Everyday they would come to us and ask, do you have guns? So you have mobile phones? Give them over,” one woman said, in anger and fear.
“Whoever they found with a mobile phone they would kill. They starved us. They’d kill people who would smoke. We were so happy when the army came,” another said.
After CNN spoke to the community, they heard it was safe to return, and began collecting their belongings to march back together.
In Irbil, a displaced community of Christians were jubilant as they heard Iraqi forces had entered their hometown of Qaraquosh, around 20 miles southeast of Mosul.
They were forced to flee the town two years ago when ISIS seized control.
They celebrated with a vigil, holding candles and singing hymns, images showed, while others gathered in the street, cheering and dancing.