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Aid Group: Thousands Have Fled Mosul

by Carla Babb

   PENTAGON --

   [1]Save The Children said Wednesday thousands of people have fled the
   Mosul area in order to escape an offensive by Iraqi and Kurdish forces
   to retake the city from Islamic State militants.

   The aid group said about 5,000 people have arrived at a refugee camp in
   Syria during the past 10 days and that it is at risk of being
   overwhelmed as more people come.

   "These families arrive with nothing but the clothes on their backs and
   find almost nothing to help them," said Tarik Kadir, who heads the
   group's Mosul response.

   More than 100 American troops are accompanying Iraqi and Kurdish
   Peshmerga forces in the Mosul operation.

   Smoke rises from Islamic state positions after an airstrike by
   coalition forces in Mosul, Iraq, Oct. 18, 2016.

   US role

   Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. Jeff Davis told reporters Tuesday the
   [2]Americans are assisting about 10,000 Kurds, 18,000 Iraqi Security
   Forces and another couple thousand Iraqi police as they face an Islamic
   State force that has been hunkered down in the the second-largest Iraqi
   city for more than two years.

   Estimates of IS fighters in Mosul range from about 3,000 to 5,000
   fighters, but U.S. officials say Mosul is home to greater skilled IS
   fighters who are more dedicated to the fight and more ideologically
   zealous.

   Davis said the more than 100 U.S. forces are embedded with Iraqi
   Security Forces at the division headquarters level. They also are
   embedded with Kurdish and Iraqi counterterrorism commandos at levels
   considered below the division level.

   U.S. officials have stressed that embedded American forces will remain
   with Iraqi and Peshmerga counterparts who are involved in coordinating
   and decision making, rather than at the front lines of combat. But U.S.
   Defense Secretary Ash Carter has said U.S. troops are still in harm's
   way.

   People rest as they flee their homes during clashes between Iraqi
   security forces and members of the Islamic State group fleeing Mosul,
   Iraq, Oct. 18, 2016.

   Early progress
   Iraqi and Kurdish forces say they have retaken a dozen villages outside
   Mosul, and Davis said there are four major points from which the
   offensive is pushing into the city. Kurdish Peshmerga units are
   advancing on Kurdish villages from two points east of Mosul, with Iraqi
   Security Forces following behind. ISF forces are advancing from the
   Qayarrah West base, and another ISF team is pushing into Mosul from the
   southeast.

   Much of the west is still controlled by Islamic State, prompting U.S.
   officials to suggest that the IS leadership may look to flee west to
   Raqqah should Mosul start to fall. These officials say they have so far
   seen some IS family members flee west, but they have not seen foreign
   fighters coming in or out of the city recently.
   The long-awaited offensive, backed by airstrikes from a U.S.-led
   coalition, and involving Sunni tribal forces and Shi'ite militias,
   remains on the outskirts of Mosul.

   IS fighters have burned tires and oil to obscure their movements, but
   officials say the tactic hasn't degraded air support by the coalition,
   which carried out four strikes against IS forces in and around Mosul
   Monday.

   President Barack Obama, speaking in Washington Tuesday, said Mosul will
   be a "difficult fight," but he expressed confidence that IS will be
   defeated in the city.

   "Perhaps a million civilians are still living there, so in addition to
   rooting out ISIL, our focus jointly is on the safety and humanitarian
   aid for civilians who are escaping the fight. That's going to be a top
   priority for both our governments," he added.
   WATCH: Video from village where Kurds drove IS out

   This is the largest and most complex military operation in Iraq since
   U.S. combat forces left the country five years ago.
   A spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition said Tuesday the operation is
   "on or ahead of schedule."
   Movement forward by all coalition forces is methodical, with commanders
   opting for caution as they come under mortar and sniper fire. On the
   southern front, Iraqi troops are moving painstakingly into the village
   of Abbas, which is larger than most of its neighbors.

   Pockets of IS militants have been mounting lightning attacks. Iraqi
   troops are also fearful of improvised bombs, which have been planted in
   the main thoroughfares.
   [Jamie Detmer contributed to this report]

References

   1. http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.6150563/k.D0E9/Newsroom.htm
   2. file://localhost/a/3556203.html