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Iraqi Forces Begin Push Into Western Mosul

by Associated Press

   HAMAM AL-ALIL, IRAQ --

   U.S.-backed Iraqi forces launched a large-scale military operation
   Sunday to dislodge Islamic State militants from the western half of
   Mosul city, a battle that is expected to be prolonged and difficult
   because of a densely packed civilian population and older, narrower
   streets.
   In a briefed televised speech on state TV, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider
   al-Abadi announced the start of the operation, saying the government
   forces were moving to "liberate the people of Mosul from Daesh
   oppression and terrorism forever," using the Arabic acronym for IS.
   Al-Abadi called on security forces to deal with civilians properly and
   respect human rights.

   Smoke rises from clashes as Iraqi security forces engage in a battle
   with Islamic State militants in south of Mosul, Iraq, Feb. 19, 2017.

   Plumes of smoke were rising into the sky early Sunday morning as
   U.S.-led coalition jets struck militant positions southwest of Mosul
   and militarized police fired artillery toward the city. Heavily armed
   police units were getting ready to move north with their armored
   vehicles from a base just southwest of the city.
   "This is zero hour and we are going to end this war, God willing," said
   Mahmoud Mansour, a police officer, as he prepared to move out.

   Members of the Iraqi rapid response forces fire a missile toward
   Islamic State militants during a battle in south of Mosul, Iraq, Feb.
   19, 2017.

   Southern villages first

   The immediate objective of the operation was to take the villages on
   the southern outskirts of Mosul airport, a police spokesman told The
   Associated Press. The officer spoke on condition of anonymity in line
   with standard procedures.
   Police units quickly moved into the village of Athba about 4 kilometers
   (3 miles) southwest of the city's airport, encountering only light
   resistance, according to an AP reporter on the scene.Separately, the
   army's 9th armored division moved into the village of Bakhira, also
   southwest of the city, the Iraqi Ministry of Defense said.

   UN: Civilians trapped, at risk

   Shortly after the announcement, the United Nations warned that hundreds
   of thousands of civilians trapped inside their houses are at extreme
   risk with dwindling fuel and food supplies and scare drinking water and
   electricity.
   "The situation is distressing. People, right now, are in trouble," Lise
   Grande, Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq, said in a statement. "We are
   hearing reports of parents struggling to feed their children and to
   heat their homes," Grande said.
   Citing informants from inside the western side, the U.N. said nearly
   half of all food shops were closed and bakeries had shut down because
   of a lack of fuel and an inability to purchase costly flour. Prices of
   kerosene and cooking gas have skyrocketed, and many of the most
   destitute families are burning wood, furniture, plastic or garbage for
   cooking and heating.
   "Children and their families are starting to face critical shortages of
   safe drinking water," Peter Hawkins, UNICEF Representative in Iraq, was
   quoted as saying in the statement. "Three out of five people now depend
   on untreated water from wells for cooking and drinking as water systems
   and treatment plants have been damaged by fighting or run out of
   chlorine."
   The humanitarian agencies were gearing up to aid 250,000 to 400,000
   civilians who may flee because of the fighting, the statement said. The
   U.N. estimates that about 750,000 civilians may be left in western
   Mosul.

   US commander praises Iraqis

   The Commander of Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve,
   Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend, hailed the Iraqi forces in a statement as an
   "increasingly capable, formidable, and professional force."
   "Mosul would be a tough fight for any army in the world, and the Iraqi
   forces have risen to the challenge," Townsend said. "They have taken
   the fight to the enemy and sacrificed their blood for the people of
   Iraq and the rest of the world."

   Western Mosul tougher fight

   Eastern Mosul was retaken from IS by Iraqi forces last month after a
   100-day battle, but the west of the city remains in the hands of the
   extremists. Unlike the east, much of the west is composed of old houses
   forming narrow alleyways, making the use of armored vehicles more
   difficult and promising a tougher fight.
   Iraqi special operations forces, regular army and federal police units
   are taking part in the offensive along with government-sanctioned
   paramilitary forces, made up mainly of Shiite militias, operating on
   the city's outskirts.
   According to the United Nations estimate, about 750,000 civilians may
   be left in the western half of Mosul and humanitarian conditions are
   grim, with stocks of food, fuel and water running low.
   Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city and the last IS urban stronghold in
   the country, fell into the hands of the extremists in the summer of
   2014, when the group captured large swaths of northern and western
   Iraq.