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Battle for Mosul begins: Iraqi and Kurdish forces launch assault on Isis stronghold

Iraqi prime minister Haider al-Abadi orders military offensive to recapture city that has been under Islamic State control

A long-awaited offensive to seize back the Iraqi city of Mosul after two years of Isis control has begun, the country’s prime minister has announced.

In an address on state television, Iraq’s Haider al-Abadi said: “We have been battling Isis for more than two years. We started fighting Isis in the outskirts of Baghdad, and thank God we are now fighting them in the outskirts of Mosul, and God willing the decisive battle will be soon.”

After a month-long buildup, the last urban stronghold of Islamic State in Iraq has for several days been almost completely surrounded by a 30,000-strong force.

Iraqi forces, which have driven hundreds of miles for what Baghdad has hailed as a last battle against the terrorist group, moved into their final positions on Friday, joining Kurdish peshmerga soldiers before an expected advance from the south. Also on the ground are US, British and French special forces, which have been advising the peshmerga and will play a prominent role in calling in airstrikes against Isis targets inside the city.

Skirmishes have flared outside Iraqi’s second largest city over the last few days with an airstrike on one of its main bridges on Sunday. It is not clear who was responsible for the strike on the al-Hurriya Bridge but Amaq, the news agency associated with Isis, blamed US forces. It is thought that the destruction of the bridge could hinder Isis fighters trying to flee the city.
 

The Iraqi prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, centre, surrounded by top military and police officers as he announces the push to retake Mosul. Photograph: AP
The Iraqi prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, centre, surrounded by top military and police officers as he announces the push to retake Mosul. Photograph: AP

head of Abadi’s televised statement, thousands of four-page leaflets were dropped across the city telling civilians to avoid certain parts of the city and declaring it was “victory time”.

Ahmed al-Assadi, a lawmaker and spokesman for the militias, said: “We promise you that it will be a great victory fitting with the greatness of Iraq and its history and its people.”

But the fight is expected to last weeks, if not months, and if the battles to wrest Falluja and Ramadi from the grip of Isis are any indication, Mosul is predicted to be a protracted and difficult affair.

The assault on the northern Iraqi city is the most critical challenge yet to Isis’s two-year-old caliphate, which has shredded state authority in the region’s heartland, caused a mass exodus of refugees, attempted a genocide of minorities and led to grave doubts over the future of Iraq.

Isis is thought to have about 6,000 fighters ready to defend Mosul, hidden among an estimated civilian population of approximately 600,000, most of whom are expected to flee as the battle intensifies. Before its occupation by Isis, the city was home to more than 2 million people.

The International Committee of the Red Cross has warned that the battle for the city could result in a humanitarian crisis with up to a million refugees fleeing.

Militants have banned civilians from leaving the city, set up checkpoints on outwards roads and blown up the homes of those who fled.

While leaving can mean trekking through minefields and the risk of discovery and punishment by Isis, those who stay know they face airstrikes, street battles, a potential siege by the Iraqi security forces and the grim possibility of being used as human shields by Isis.

The US has recently deployed an additional 600 troops to aid in the city’s capture, bringing the total number of US personnel to more than 5,200, according to the Pentagon.

Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, said: “This is the last big holdout in Iraq for Isil.”

The US said on Sunday night that it was proud to stand with its allies in the offensive to retake Mosul.

“PM Abadi issued orders to initiate major operations to liberate Mosul after two years of darkness under Isil terrorists,” Brett McGurk, the US envoy to the coalition against Islamic State, said in a message on Twitter. “Godspeed to the heroic Iraqi forces, Kurdish peshmerga, and Ninewa volunteers. We are proud to stand with you in this historic operation.”

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