Iraq PM admits his failure to recapture Mosul by New Year

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi said yesterday that it would take a further three months to remove Daesh from Iraq and specifically Mosul, as US and Iran-backed forces battled to dislodge the militants from their last major stronghold in the country.

Al-Abadi had previously pledged the northern city would be retaken by the end of this year. But the operation has been slowed by crippling losses inflicted upon advancing Iraqi Security Forces (ISF).

Asked to respond to comments by the commander of a US-led coalition supporting Iraqi forces that it would take as long as two years to eliminate Daesh and its cells in Iraq and neighbouring Syria, Al-Abadi said:

“The Americans were very pessimistic. They used to talk about a really long period, but the remarkable successes achieved by our brave and heroic fighters reduced that. I foresee that in Iraq it will take three months.”

However, the reality on the ground would appear to suggest otherwise, as Daesh have put up a dogged and fierce defence of their holdings in Mosul.

Official figures of Iraqi casualties have not been released, but MEMO reported that after two months of fighting, it could be as high as 5,000 men. That figure is almost certainly set to rise as the punishing government advance continues.

Overnight the coalition bombed the last remaining bridge connecting the eastern and western parts of Mosul “to reduce enemy freedom of movement”, a military spokesman said yesterday.

A statement published by Daesh-linked Amaq news agency said the bridge was now completely out of service, and a video circulated online showed a segment of the span had fallen into the river.

The United Nations has previously expressed concern that the destruction of Mosul’s bridges could obstruct the evacuation of civilians. Up to 1.5 million are thought to remain inside the beleaguered city, under Daesh control for over two and half years.

More than two months into the Mosul operation, Iraqi soldiers from the elite Counter Terrorism Service (CTS), or “Golden Division”, claimed to have retaken a quarter of the city, but entered a planned “operational refit” this month, according to a senior US general.

Other US sources speaking to Politico said that the CTS had suffered a force attrition rate of some 50 per cent, indicating that even if these Iraqi troops managed to seize Mosul, it could be a pyrrhic victory as they would be completely depleted.

A US battlefield commander told Reuters on Monday that Iraqi forces would resume their offensive in the coming days, in a new phase of the operation that will see American troops deployed closer to the frontline inside the city. US soldiers “advising” Iraqi forces could number in the thousands.

Mosul, the largest city seized by Daesh anywhere across the once vast territory it controlled in Iraq and neighbouring Syria, has been held by the group since its fighters drove the US-trained-and-equipped army out in June 2014.

Besides Mosul, Daesh still controls the towns of Tel Afar and Al-Qaim, as well as Hawija and the surrounding area.

The city’s fall would probably end Daesh’s ambition to create a self-styled caliphate, but the fighters could still mount a more traditional insurgency in Iraq, and plot or inspire attacks on the West.