Mosul offensive (2016)

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Mosul offensive of 2016
Part of the Iraqi Civil War and the U.S.-led intervention in Iraq
Map of Mosul area
Map of the Kurdish-launched Mosul offensive, August 2016
Date 24 March 2016 – present
(5 months and 5 days)
Location Southwest Erbil Governorate; Nineveh Governorate, Iraq
Status

Ongoing

Belligerents

 Iraq
Iraqi Kurdistan Iraqi Kurdistan
CJTF–OIR:

 Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)
Commanders and leaders

Haidar al-Abadi (Prime Minister of Iraq)
Iraq Major Gen. Najim al-Jubouri (ISF commander of Nineveh Operations)
CJTF–OIR:

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
(Leader)
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant Abu Suleiman al-Naser  (Military Chief)[1]

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant Mohammad Ahmad Sha’yeb  (ISIL Governor of the Nineveh Province)[2]
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant Jassim Salim al-Matyouti  (Replacement Nineveh Province Governor)[3]
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant Thaher Mohammed Salman al-Sabawi  (Top commander in the Nineveh Province)[3]
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant Salam Abd Shabib al-Jbouri  (Top ISIL commander in Mosul)[4]
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant Imad Khalid Afar  (Senior ISIL adviser)[5]
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant Wahid as-Sabaawi  (oil minister)[3]
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant Abu Zaineb  (ISIL commander in Qayyarah)[6]
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant Ahmed Ghanem al-Hadidi  (Chief of "Cubs of the Caliphate" in Mosul)[3]
Units involved

Iraq:

Iraqi Kurdistan:

United States:

France:

United Kingdom:

Military of ISIL

Strength

ISF: 20,000–25,000 soldiers[7]

Peshmerga: 10,000 soldiers[8]
US: 200 Marines (tactical support only)[9]
Up to 10,000 militants (in Mosul city)[10]
Casualties and losses
Unkown
Unknown
1 US Navy Seal killed
1,300+ militants killed (by June 2016)[11][12]
72 deserted[13][14][15][16][17]
118 civilians executed[18][19][20][21][22][23][15][24][25]
1 Kurdish soldier beheaded (hostage from 2015)[26]
120,000+ civilians displaced[27]

Operation Conquest, or Operation Fatah, is an ongoing offensive against ISIL's positions in Mosul and the surrounding region.

The offensive is a joint effort by the Iraqi government forces with allied militias, Iraqi Kurdistan, limited US ground forces, and US and allied air support.[28][29][30][31] It is part of the military intervention against ISIL, with the aim of pushing ISIL out of the second-largest city of Iraq, Mosul, as well as the rest of the Nineveh Governorate.[32] The operation follows the Mosul offensive in 2015, which successfully recaptured parts of the region northwest of Mosul, but stopped short of breaching the city itself, for various reasons. The fall of Mosul to ISIL occurred between 4 and 10 June 2014.

Background[edit]

Map of the 2015's offensive outcome.

Since the city of Mosul fell to ISIL forces on 10 June 2014, the United States and the Iraqi Government were planning to retake the city. Initially, the original plan called for an assault on Mosul in July or August 2015.[33] From late January through early February 2015, the Peshmerga launched an offensive on northwest Mosul with 5,000 soldiers, cutting ISIL supply lines to Tel Afar, and coming within 6 miles of the city center, from Mosul's northwestern outskirts. In May 2015, the fall of Ramadi to ISIL delayed the planned offensive to retake Mosul to 2016. In late November 2015, the Iraqi Army fully encircled Ramadi and launched another offensive to retake the city, fully recapturing Ramadi and the neighboring districts in February 2016. In late February 2016, 4,000 Iraqi soldiers redeployed to the Makhmour area in the southwestern Erbil Province, in preparation for an upcoming offensive on Mosul.

Offensive[edit]

March 2016[edit]

The offensive began on 24 March 2016, near the Makhmur area of the Nineveh Province. Thousands of Iraqi troops were deployed there in recent weeks. They were setting up bases alongside Kurdish and US forces.[32] While advancing westward toward the oil town of Qayyarah, Iraqi troops were reported to have recaptured several villages from ISIL, among them Al-Nasr, Garmandi, Kudila and Khurburdan,[32] though it was later revealed that ISIL was still occupying Al-Nasr and the government forces were trying to capture it.[34]

Around 4,000 soldiers, from two brigades of the U.S.-trained 15th Division of the Iraqi army, including Sunni tribal fighters (considered by Peshmerga commanders to be crucial to hold the traditionally Sunni areas), met stiff resistance. It was reported that they were attacked by suicide bombers as well as with mortars and machine guns, which stopped the advance for the time being. Warplanes of the U.S.-led coalition against ISIL launched multiple airstrikes on at least two locations. 200 U.S. Marines had set up a small outpost called Firebase Bell in the last few weeks. From there they provided artillery and targeting support for Iraqi forces. The presence of U.S. Marines became known, after one of them was recently killed in an ISIL rocket attack. Kurdish Peshmerga forces didn't take active part in the fight yet, they only held the front line at what they considered as the border of their territory.[35] It was announced on 27 March that Abu Furqan al-Misry, an ISIL commander and executioner who was a notorious figure in the region, had been killed.[36]

During the offensive, Iraqi soldiers temporarily fled from the village of Nasr after ISIL started to shell the village, while Kurdish Peshmerga forces held their positions according to the Kurdish media groups.[37] There were reports of 25 ISIL fighters killed as the Iraqi army was shelling ISIL headquarters in Qayyarah.[38]

April 2016[edit]

By the first days of April 2016, thousands of Mosul residents began to flee the area, as Iraqi forces inched closer toward the city.[39] ISIL reportedly started using the chemistry lab of the Mosul University for making bombs.[40]

The Joint Task Force carried out airstrikes against ISIL near Qayyarah on 1 April. The airstrikes destroyed a weapon storage facility, a tactical vehicle and two mortar firing positions.[41] A source in Nineveh Liberation Operations Command in a statement to IraqiNews.com published on 2 April announced that 40 ISIL militants had been killed by Iraqi forces in different regions south of Mosul. The slain militants included 6 suicide bombers and one senior leader.[42]

The ISIL-occupied Turkish Consulate was destroyed by airstrikes from the U.S.-led coalition after Turkey had given its approval for targeting the consulate.[43] Later on the same day, Iraqi Army managed to kill 30 militants and detonate a booby-trapped vehicle in the village of al-Nasr located in Makhmur District south of Mosul.[44]

On 5 April, Coalition aircraft bombed a training headquarters belonging to ISIL near the Grand Mosque in the city of Mosul resulting in the killing of 50 fighters belonging to ISIL, as well as destroying their headquarters completely.[45]

On 6 April, Iraqi security forces from the army’s 15th brigade, Peshmerga, and tribal fighters resumed military operations, after receiving information about the presence of a large number of booby-trapped vehicles and suicide bombers belonging to ISIS in al-Nasr village south of Mosul, killing 70 ISIS militants and destroying seven car bombs.[46]

The Iraqi government released a footage on 7 April that showed an airstrike conducted by the coalition forces in Mosul which destroyed a bridge that was being used to ferry supplies by ISIL. In addition, the government claimed that a number of militants had been killed in the airstrikes as well with many other roads and bridges used as supply lines by ISIL being cut-off.[47] On the same day, US-led coalition aircraft carried out an air strike targeting a laboratory of chlorine-filled rockets, chlorine gas and other toxic materials belonging to ISIL in al-Saawiya village in Qayyara District, killing 30 of fighters who were inside the laboratory and destroying the laboratory completely.[48]

On 9 April, at least 30 ISIL militants were killed by Coalition airstrikes in Mosul. Two airstrikes struck an ISIL defensive fence in Al-Haj, south of Mosul, killing over 20 militants, pulverizing the base. 10 ISIL militants were also killed when Coalition jets pounded another site in the Al-Mahanna district, to the south of Mosul.[49] British aircraft carried out airstrikes near Mosul and Qayyarah on 12 April, taking out an ISIL rocket launching team near Mosul and a mortar team near Qayyarah.[50] On 16 April, a Coalition airstrike killed Imad Khalid Afar, a senior ISIL commander and adviser, near the Salam Hospital.[5]

On 18 April, the US and Peshmerga forces carried out a raid in Hamam Alil, to the south of Mosul, killing 3 ISIL militants. One of them was Salam Abd Shabib al-Jbouri, the top ISIL commander in Mosul.[4] On the same day, the Peshmerga launched an offensive on Khorsabad, to the northeast of Mosul, capturing the villages of Nawara and Barima, as well as the Khorsabad Intersection, to the north of Khorsabad.[51] By 19 April, Peshmerga forces entered Khorsabad.[52]

On 27 April, the Iraqi Army captured Mahana, a village in the Makhmour area located southeast of Qayyarah.[53] The clashes and the aerial bombardments at Mahana resulted in the deaths of 200 ISIL militants.[54] On the same day Iraqi Army shelled a gathering belonging to ISIL in Khayata village, in the Qayyara district, killing 35 ISIL militants.[55] On 29 April, the Iraqi Army repelled an ISIL counterattack on the villages of Mahana and Khardan, killing 91 ISIL militants. An Australian ISIL recruiter, Neil Prakash, also known by his alias Abu Khaled al-Cambodi, was killed in a US airstrike in Mosul on the same day.[56][57]

May 2016[edit]

On 2 May, nine ISIS militants were killed by a shelling conducted by the Iraqi army 15th brigade on ISIS gathering in Shayla village in Makhmur District south of Mosul.[58]

On 3 May, at 7:30am local time, 125 ISIS militants with more than 20 vehicles attacked a Peshmerga position, near the town of Tel Skuf, 28–30 km North of Mosul, where a dozen U.S. troops acting as advisors were visiting. American and Peshmerga forces fought back but the militants broke into the position using 3 truck bombs followed by bulldozers which cleared the wreckage away, the Peshmerga and U.S. forces called for a QRF which responded and joined the battle, helping the advisors and other personnel to withdraw. 11 to 13 U.S. aircraft; F-15s F-16s, A-10s, B-52s and 2 drones were scrambled and they carried out 31 airstrikes; which destroyed 2 more truck bombs and together the coalition forces repelled the attack. The battle continued for another 12 hours, in total; 58 militants were killed, 3 mortars and 20 of their vehicles were destroyed, Peshmerga forces captured at least 3 US-made Humvees that ISIS had itself captured from the Iraqi military in 2014. However, Special Warfare Operator 1st Class Charles Keating IV; a U.S. Navy SEAL who was part of the QRF, was struck by direct ISIS small arms fire at 9:32am, he was medevaced to a medical facility in Erbil where he later died of his wound, making him the third American serviceman to be killed in combat during Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq. 10 Peshmerga fighters were also killed and a further 30 wounded, 2 U.S. medevac helicopters were also damaged by small arms fire. The IS attack was part of their counter-offensive on multiple fronts overnight to obtain new ground, in the case of the firefight at Tel Skuf, ISIS covertly assembled their forces and attacked before 6am into Kurdish territory, destroying a Peshmerga checkpoint on the way to Tel Skuf. Iraqi military sources said that special forces had foiled an attack by 5 suicide bombers in the village of Khirbirdan and Peshmerga forces repelled an IS assault on Wardak. Coalition aircraft carried out 7 airstrikes near Mosul, hitting six groups of IS fighters as well as 2 vehicles, 3 weapons caches, a mortar system and other targets. U.S. Army Colonel Steve Warren labeled the offensive as one of the most complex battlefield operations launched by ISIS since December 2015.[59][60][61][62][63][64]

On 6 May, coalition aviation conducted an aerial strike on a gathering for ISIS elements in the village of al-Ju’wana in the district of Makhmour, resulting in the death of 20 ISIS elements.[65]

On 7 May, coalition aviation carried out an air strike, destroying an ISIS fuel station south of Mosul, killing 17 ISIS militants.[66]

On 9 May, Iraqi forces retook the northern village of Kabrouk from ISIL, supported by artillery and airstrikes from the U.S.-led Coalition, killing 40 ISIS fighters during the liberation that took less than two hours while militants put up little resistance in the village. This advance brings Iraqi forces slightly closer to the oil town of Qayyara on the western banks of the Tigris River.[67][68]

On 29 May, Peshmerga forces, consisting of 5,500 fighters, supported by the Coalition airstrikes, retook al-Muftiyah and Jim Kour towns near Mosul.[69] From 28 to 30 May, Peshmerga forces recaptured 9 villages to the southeast of Mosul, including Mufti, Tulaband, Shuqali and Wardak. Four Peshmerga fighters and 140 ISIL militants were killed in the clashes.[14]

On 31 May, the Iraqi army repelled an ISIL attack on the areas of Kabrouk, Mahana and Kharbrdan west of Makhmur, killing 22 ISIL members. During the attack the militants used two booby-trapped vehicles against the army's district headquarters.[70]

June 2016[edit]

Mosul area

On 12 June, Iraqi army started a renewed offensive south of Mosul to capture the village of Hajj Ali at the banks of River Tigris on its way to Qayyarah. The offensive was supported by coalition warplanes, after U.S. and Iraqi units had hit ISIL positions with artillery in the recent days.[71] On 13 June the Iraqi army reportedly captured Hajj Ali along with the villages of Khirab Jabri and Kaproki.[72]

Two senior Islamic State group commanders were killed in a US airstrike in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul on 25 June, the Pentagon has revealed. The strike killed ISIS's deputy war minister, Basim Muhammad Ahmad Sultan al-Bajari, and a military commander named Hatim Talib al-Hamduni, the Pentagon said in a statement. Al-Bajari is suspected of organizing mustard gas attacks and leading the group's takeover of Mosul in 2014.[73]

July 2016[edit]

On 9 July, the Iraqi army recaptured Qayyarah Airfield West in Nineveh province from ISIL, reportedly "without any resistance". The airfield was considered a "strategic launch-pad" for the ongoing Mosul offensive.[74][75]

Meanwhile, on 15 July, Iraqi troops established a floating bridge over the Tigris river south of Mosul, connecting Makhmur to Qayyarah. On 16 July, a large boat carrying more than two tons of explosives en route to the floating bridge was destroyed completely by a coalition airstrike near Haj Ali village.[76]

Nineveh provincial council member Hossam al-Abbar said on 26 July that over 1,500 ISIS members, including several of its senior leaders, had escaped from Mosul and were headed towards Raqqa in Syria. Al-Abbar said in a press statement that there were around 9000 ISIS members in Mosul, including Arab, foreign and local nationals before the recapture of Qayyarah base and surrounding villages by pro-government forces, but the number had declined after their recapture as many had been killed or escaped the city.[77]

A local source in Nineveh province announced on 28 July that a group comprising of youngsters attacked an ISIL prison, killed a prison guard and helped dozens of detainees escape. Most of the detainees were from Mosul and they were arrested on charges of collaborating with the security forces. ISIS had demanded ransoms from the families of the detainees, ranging from 100,000 to 200,000 Iraqi dinars.[78] It was also reported that ISIL's military Wali of Tigris, Abu Shuaib, was killed in an airstrike by the coalition along with many other leaders of the group.[79]

August 2016[edit]

On 2 August, the Media War Cell reported that pro-government forces had recaptured the public road and al-Hathr junction as well as the surrounding villages from Qayyarah base to Tlul al-Bj.[80] On 5 August, media officials in the Ministry of Defense announced that an ISIL Sharia Court and an explosives factory had been destroyed in Mosul in airstrikes carried out by Iraqi Air Force.[81] On 13 August, Nineveh Operations Command announced the recapture of al-Jadaa, Zahilila, Ajba and Jwan villages south of Mosul by Anti-Terrorism Directorate and the 9th Brigade of Iraqi Army.[82] A power station in Qayyarah was blown up by militants who escaped after blasting it. Soldiers were deployed in the area after the incident.[83]

On 14 August, Iraqi forces in collaboration with Kurdish forces captured four villages which were Tal Hamid, Qarqasha, Abzakh and Qura Takh located near Mosul. Later the Nineveh Provincial Council also announced capture of 3 other villages which were Suteih, Qashqala and Qaryytakh.[84][85]

By 15 August, the number of villages captured by Peshmerga rose to 12 during the operation and reached the western Kanhash side al-Kwir (Gwer) bridge, capturing the area. The newly captured villages were Sanf, Homaira, Hasudiya, small Kahnash and big Kahnash. The Peshmerga command announced the end of the offensive after the villages were captured. About 165 ISIL militants died during the offensive.[86][87][88] On 16 August, Kurdistan Democratic Party official confirmed that ISIL's ‘Minister of Media’ Abu Aed al-Shami was killed during the offensive.[89]

On the same day media officials of Ministry of Defence announced that Anti-Terrorism Forces captured 4 villages by the names of of al-Hawish, al-Jawa’na, al-Jubla and al-Ghazeya.[90]

On 17 August, the Iraqi Air Force carried out an airstrike on a headquarters of the group in Mosul. A security official of the group along with a number of fighters died as a result of the airstrike.[91] The US-led coalition also carried out airstrikes over several headquarters of the group on the same day in which at least 50 militants were killed and over 22 vehicles belonging to the group were destroyed.[92] On 18 August, an airstrike by the US-led coalition killed seven ISIL militants and destroyed two of their vehicles in Kokji village north of Mosul.[93] Airstrikes were also carried out in south of Mosul with 18 militants being killed in airstrike on ISIL vehicles on the highway between Qayyarah and Hamam al-Alil and 30 ISIL tankers being destroyed in airstrike near Qayyarah.[93]

On 21 August, the US-led coalition killed 4 ISIL militants and destroyed 12 vehicles belonging to the group which they were planning to set ablaze in order to obscure vision of pro-government troops.[94] Iraqi air force carried out an airstrike in Mosul. A missile manufacturing factory was destroyed in the airstrike while 10 militants including Algerian leader of the group Abu Ritaj was killed.[95] A bomb targeting a convoy of the group exploded near Tel Kaif, killing six militants. An ISIL counterattack on al-Kweir was repelled by the Peshmarga, resulting in deaths of 13 militants.[96] On 22 August, the anti-ISIL coalition bombed an assembly of ISIL fighters in Al-Safina village near Gwer, resulting in 12 militants being killed and 13 being injured.[97] ISIL attacked the Iraqi army and civilians in Al-Owisja village with rockets containing chlorine gas, however no officer or civilian was injured.[98] A counterattack by ISIL on al-Jad’aa, al-Remah and Ajhala was repelled with a number of militants being killed and 3 booby-trapped vehicles being destroyed by the Iraqi army.[99]

On 23 August, Iraqi forces backed by the international coalition launched an offensive to capture Qayyarah. The forces entered the city from three points and were coordinating with armed residents inside the city. The center of the city had reportedly been stormed by the troops within hours of the launch of the offensive.[100][101] 23 car bombs of ISIL were destroyed in the clashes and dozens of fighters including a Chechen leader of the group Abu Futuhi were killed.[102] Meanwhile, a recruiter for the "Cubs of the Caliphate" was assassinated by unknown gunmen in Mosul.[103] Amin Shekhani, an Iraqi commander while commenting on the progress later reported the troops were still advancing towards the center. 10 Iraqi soldiers who were trying to clear the city center were killed in a suicide bombing. During the clashes, Iraqi troops captured the roadway between Qayyarah and Hamam Ali. The next day, Iraqi forces relaunched an offensive against the fighters north of Qayyarah. Army officer Shaeb Lafta said that Iraqi troops had captured several areas, oil refineries and buildings including the main government complex as well as killed an ISIL commander Abul-Futuh al-Shishani. Over 40 militants were killed on the first day of the operation.[104][105][106] The Anti-Terrorism Directorate announced that Iraqi forces had captured the general hospital of the city.[106] Meanwhile, an airstrike on an ISIL headquarters killed and injured several militants, however it also killed 10 civilians and wounded 15 of them.[107]

General Moen al-Saadi later stated that Iraqi forces had captured al-Masaf, al-Masfa, the government complex, government building of Qayyarah vicinity and the northern road in Western Qayyarah.[108] A Nineveh Council member later claimed that Qayyarah had been fully liberated.[109] However, General Moen al-Saadi stated on 25 August that Iraqi forces were still in the last phase of capturing the city and had captured the city center. He also stated that more than 30 militants had been killed that morning.[110] Meanwhile, the Iraqi Air Force destroyed an ISIL convoy consisting of eight trucks fleeing from Sharqat to Hawija.[111] Later in the day, Qayyarah was fully captured by Iraqi forces with Lieutenant General Riyadh Jalal Tawfiq stating that they now controlled all parts of the city and Prime Minister Haider hailing the capture of the city as a "key step in the fight" against ISIL.[112][113] On 26 August, 12 militants were killed in an airstrike by the U.S.-led coalition on a weapons depot of the group in Saadia village. In addition, 10 militants were killed in explosion of an ISIL car bomb between Makhmour and Qayyarah.[114][115]

On 29 August, Abu Yahya Alwaizi, an ISIL leader, was killed in airstrike in Mosul by Inherent Resolve.[116]

Executions[edit]

On 30 March 2016, ISIL electrocuted at least 15 civilians in the central Bab al-Toub neighborhood of Mosul, for allegedly collaborating with the government and passing information to state officials.[18]

On 7 April, ISIL executed 18 civilians after accusing them of spying for the Kurdish Peshmerga forces and Iraqi army. Eight of them were publicly beheaded in central Mosul, while ten others were burned to death inside a cage in front of hundreds of people.[19]

On 12 April, a source in Nineveh Province stated that ISIL carried out an execution in front of a student’s house, in the village of al-Haj Ali in Makhmur District, and in the presence of all the people in the village, for collaborating with the security forces.[20]

On 2 May, ISIS executed 17 citizens in Mosul for refusing to join the battles against the Iraqi security forces.[21]

On the evening of 8 May, ISIS members executed eight civilians by firing squad in al-Ghazlani camp in central Mosul on charges of collaborating with the opposing security forces, ISIS members filmed the execution of the civilians after being sentenced to death by the so-called Sharia Court in Nineveh Province and threw the bodies in a hole in western part of the city.[22]

On 11 May, ISIS buried alive 45 of their own fighters in Qayyarah for fleeing a battle near Bashir.[117][118]

On 19 May, in the city of Mosul, ISIS executed 25 suspected spies by lowering them into a tub of nitric acid. According to witnesses, the victims were tied together with rope before being lowered into a basin containing the corrosive acid.[23]

On 22 June, the group executed 4 of its own commanders for deserting their posts during a battle near Mosul.[16] On 27 July, the group executed 17 of its own commanders for escaping from the frontlines in the battle for the town of Qayyarah.[15]

On 29 July, the group executed 20 civilians alleging that they were cooperating with pro-government forces according to the head of the Nineveh media center.[24] On 20 August, ISIS killed 14 civilians in al-Faisaliah, central Mosul for allegedly collaborating with the pro-government forces.[25] On 23 August, the group executed 6 of its commanders by flamethrowers for trying to escape to Syria.[17]

Casualties[edit]

On 12 April, Nineveh Operations Command announced that hospitals in Nineveh Province received more than 500 bodies of ISIL fighters, during the military operations south of the province, especially in Qayyarah.[119] Khaled al-Obaidi, the Defence Minister of Iraq on 25 June announced that more than 1,300 ISIL militants had been killed since the start of the offensive.[11][12]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

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Coordinates: 35°48′01″N 43°17′23″E / 35.8003°N 43.2897°E / 35.8003; 43.2897