MOSUL: In a momentous victory, Iraq retook full control of the country's second-largest city, Mosul, which had been seized by the Islamic State group for the past three years. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi praised his senior military leadership at a small base on the edge of the Old City, saying, “This great feast day crowned the victories of the fighters and the Iraqis for the past three years.” He highlighted the brutality of the battle for Mosul, which has been the country's longest yet in the fight against the extremists.
Al-Abadi said the triumph was achieved “by the blood of our martyrs”. The region had fallen into the hands of the IS in 2014. Iraq's fight against them was backed by air-strikes from the US-led coalition. While the region has been reclaimed, victory came at the cost of thousands of lives, neighbourhoods destroyed in its entireties and as many as 900,000 displaced from their homes. The coalition congratulated the PM, however, it noted that several parts of the Old City still “must be back-cleared of explosive devices and possible ISIS fighters in hiding.” US President Donald Trump released a statement saying, “The victory in Mosul, a city where ISIS once proclaimed its so-called 'caliphate', signals that its days in Iraq and Syria are numbered.”
The long battle saw Iraqi troops slowly push through the narrow alleys of the Old City in the past week, demolishing houses to carve supply routes and fighting positions in a district with buildings that date back centuries. Commanders said gains slowed in the last handful of days as IS fighters used their families, including women and children as human shields. As the space for battle narrowed, coalition began approving air-strikes dropping 200 pound bombs on IS targets within 50 meters. Iraqi army Capt Marwan Hadi said, “This used to be a beautiful city, tourists used to come here.”
“All along the front line, there are so many families under the rubble. I saved two children and their mother, but one daughter, we couldn't reach her,” he said. Nineveh's provincial council estimated thousands of civilians dead, a toll that does not even include those who remain buried under collapsed buildings. The United Nations said there was no end in sight to the humanitarian crisis in Iraq despite the conclusion of the fighting. It said of all those displaced, thousands will probably not be able to return to the city because of “extensive damage caused during the conflict.”
The Iraqi special forces that largely led most of the assaults in Mosul, faced casualty rates of 40 per cent. A 20 year old soldier said, “Honestly, all this death and all this destruction, I don't believe it was worth it.”
