Kurdish Intelligence: 40,000 Were Killed In The Battle To Take Back Mosul From The Islamic State

Destroyed buildings from clashes are seen in the Old City of Mosul, (Reuters)

The Independent: The massacre of Mosul: 40,000 feared dead in battle to take back city from Isis as scale of civilian casualties revealed

Exclusive: Many bodies are still buried under the rubble and the level of human suffering is 'immense', a top Kurdish official reading from latest intelligence reports tells Patrick Cockburn in the last of his special series on the last days of the caliphate.

More than 40,000 civilians were killed in the devastating battle to retake Mosul from Isis, according to intelligence reports revealed exclusively to The Independent - a death toll far higher than previous estimates.

Residents of the besieged city were killed by Iraqi ground forces attempting to force out militants, as well as by air strikes and Isis fighters, according to Kurdish intelligence services.

Hoshyar Zebari, until recently a senior minister in Baghdad, told The Independent that many bodies "are still buried under the rubble". "The level of human suffering is immense," he said.

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WNU Editor: I find ti revealing that no one is disputing these neighbours .... or even offering an alternative number.

What Has The U.S. Military Learned From The Battle Of Mosul

Defense One: Mosul: What the Decade’s Largest Battle Says About the Future of War

Here’s how Western-backed Iraqi soldiers helped break the Islamic State’s grip on a city of more than 1 million people — and what we can learn from it.

The world’s largest military operation in nearly 15 years has been going on since October 2016: the drive on Mosul, Iraq.

In this special feature, Defense One’s Ben Watson outlines the tactical innovations that U.S.-backed coalition forces used to break the Islamic State’s grip on a city of more than one million people. An animated battle map lays out the the ebb and flow of forces through the city. Its many lessons are revealed through interactive graphics, data, audio, video, and before-and-after satellite imagery.

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WNU Editor: A must read.

Battle For The Iraqi City Of Mosul -- News Updates July 5, 2017

Daily Mail: ISIS hold just 600 square yards of territory in Mosul, which holds 300 of its fighters, Iraqi commander reveals

* Up to 300 ISIS fighters surrounded in Mosul's Old City as Iraqi army moves in
* But there are fears hundreds of civilians remain trapped in the fanatics' enclave
* 1,500 residents flee with every 100 yard advance by Iraqi government forces

ISIS hold just 600 square yards of territory in Mosul - an area holding 300 of its fighters an Iraqi commander has revealed.

The extremists have been surrounded in a small enclave in the Old City amid fears many of the buildings are still packed with civilians.

Up to 1,500 trapped residents flee with every every 100 yard advance by government forces.

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Battle For The Iraqi City Of Mosul -- News Updates July 5, 2017

Iraqi commander says 300 IS fighters holed up in Mosul -- ABC News/AP
UPDATED: commander: 100 IS suicide bombers remain in Mosul’s Old City -- Iraqi News
ISIS Unleashes Dozens of Female Suicide Bombers in Battle For Mosul -- Newsweek
Over sixty Islamic State militants killed in Mosul’s Old City: Federal Police -- Iraqi News
US-Led Coalition Destroys 33 Fighting Positions Near Iraq’s Mosul -- Sputnik
As the Battle for Mosul Nears End, Civilians Struggle to Survive—and Flee -- WSJ
In Iraq, Fight To Retake Mosul From ISIS Appears To Be In Its Final Stages (Audio) -- NPR
Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi hails ‘big victory’ over Islamic State even as fighting continues and civilians count cost -- SCMP/AP
Iraq declares the end of Isis on third anniversary of declaration of caliphate -- The Independent
Iraq to declare Mosul's full liberation from IS within two days -- The Statesman/IANS
Basic infrastructure repair in Mosul will cost over $1 billion: U.N. -- Reuters
Humanity under attack in Mosul, Red Cross says -- BBC

Drone Footage Shows The Destruction Of Mosul

WTOL/CNN: Drone video shows war's toll on once-thriving Mosul


MOSUL, IRAQ (CNN) - New drone video from Iraq shows desperate civilians fleeing completely devastated areas of Mosul, the site of biblical Nineveh.

The footage shows the old city in the western part of Mosul, once Iraq’s second-largest city. Shown is the massive destruction as a result of the ongoing battle against ISIS.

Mosul was once the terror group's stronghold in Iraq. In 2014, ISIS leveled the tomb of the biblical prophet Jonah. A coalition spokesman says only a few hundred ISIS fighters are left in the city.

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WNU Editor: Nothing but rubble.

Battle For The Iraqi City Of Mosul -- News Updates May 11, 2017

BBC: Mosul battle will be finished within days - Iraqi army chief

Iraqi security forces are only days away from completing the operation to recapture Mosul from so-called Islamic State, the army's chief of staff says.

Lt Gen Othman al-Ghanimi told the BBC he hoped the jihadist group would be defeated in the city before the Islamic holy month of Ramadan begins on 26 May.

Recent gains in the north meant the remaining militants were being squeezed into an ever smaller area, he added.

Mosul fell to IS in 2014 and is its last major urban stronghold in Iraq.

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Battle For The Iraqi City Of Mosul -- News Updates May 11, 2017

Battle to retake Mosul from ISIS to be finished 'within days', Iraqi army chief claims five months after operation was supposed to have finished -- Daily Mail
Iraqi army Chief: ISIS will be expelled from Mosul before Ramadan -- Al Arabiya
Iraqi forces move to surround Mosul's Old City, held by ISIS -- FOX News
U.S.-Backed Iraqi Special Forces Encircling Mosul Old City -- RFE
US-backed forces push into Mosul in final stages of battle against Isis -- The Independent
Iraqi army captures more neighborhoods in northwest Mosul, clashes ongoing -- RUDAW
Iraq captures west Mosul's al-Maamel industrial neighborhood -- UPI
War in Iraq: Islamic State Collapses As Military Kills ISIS Commander in West Mosul -- Newsweek
Military media map suggests only 10% of western Mosul under IS control -- Iraqi News
Military media: army killed more than 1300 IS militants in Mosul since February -- Iraqi News
Mosul Hasn't Been Fully Liberated 'Because of Washington' -- Sputnik
Jihadists snaring starving civilians in Mosul death trap -- AFP
Families Pour Out of Mosul as Iraqi Troops Push Into Last Militant-Held Areas -- US News and World Report/Reuters
622,000 Iraqis displaced by Mosul military operations: UN -- Global Times
Civilians in Mosul's Old City face 'stark choices' for survival: ICRC -- Reuters
In Iraq’s Mosul, many survivors face future as amputees -- Washington Post/AP
Iraqis dig their own wells in battle-scarred Mosul -- Reuters

Battle For The Iraqi City Of Mosul -- News Updates May 9, 2017

Reuters: Iraqi forces chip away at last Islamic State-held districts in Mosul

Fly-blown corpses of Islamic State militants (IS) littered the streets of a district in Mosul on Tuesday as U.S.-backed Iraqi forces chipped away at the last remaining handful of districts under the jihadists' control.

Seven months into the campaign to recapture Iraq's second largest city, government forces say it is now in its final phase after opening a new front in the northwest of Mosul last week and gaining ground in several districts there.

Trapped in a shrinking area with no way out, the ultra hardline Sunni militants are hitting back with a barrage of suicide car bombs and snipers hidden among hundreds of thousands of civilians they are effectively holding hostage.

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Battle For The Iraqi City Of Mosul -- News Updates May 9, 2017

Iraq forces make swift progress in west Mosul -- AFP
Iraqi forces clash with ISIS on new Mosul frontline -- NRT
Iraqi forces launch wide scale offensive against ISIS northwest of Mosul -- RUDAW
Iraqi forces take over western Mosul’s 30 Tamuz district -- Iraqi News
Iraqi forces close in on Mosul with bit-by-bit push -- Xinhuanet
Islamic State leader in west Mosul killed in airstrike -- UPI
100 ISIS militants killed in aerial bombardments in western Iraq, says army -- NRT
Iraq secures highway to Syria to curb Islamic State attacks -- UPI
WATCH: A deeper look into ISIS tunnels in Mosul -- Al Arabiya
Iraqi cities see terror attacks as Mosul offensive draws to end -- NRT
Civilians complicate final phase of Mosul campaign: U.S. commander -- Reuters
435,000 displaced from Iraq’s Mosul since February: UN -- Hindustan Times
U.N.: 435.000 Iraqis displaced since start of western Mosul operations -- Iraqi News
Mosul victory in sight -- at a cost -- Ben Wedeman, CNN

Iraq -- The Mosul Offensive

From The Long War Journal:

Just over one year after the surge officially began Coalition and Iraqi forces continue to pursue al Qaeda in Iraq. After al Qaeda has been driven from its havens in Baghdad and the surrounding belts regions, and most recently in Diyala, the city of Mosul has emerged as the latest battleground.

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My Comment: A side of me likes to believe that this is the end of Al Qaeda in Iraq, but I know that realistically this is not the case. Al Qaeda is weaker .... yes .... but as a force spent it is not. Al Qaeda, or its offshoots, will always be around. The best thing that we can hope for is that as a spent force it is diminished, and maybe over time it will be gone.