iraqis chase daesh jihadists in mosul with local help
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today
Arab Today, arab today
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today

Over the rattle of machinegun fire

Iraqis chase Daesh jihadists in Mosul with local help

Arab Today, arab today

Arab Today, arab today Iraqis chase Daesh jihadists in Mosul with local help

Soldiers from the Iraqi special forces secure a street
Mosul - Arab Today

Lieutenant Ali Hussein listened intently as the elderly man explained where he thought the jihadist fighters were over the rattle of machinegun fire.

"My neighbour shouted to me and told me he saw them," the white-haired man said. The three jihadists were still thought to be in a nearby house.

Iraqi special forces were battling Wednesday to clear the Al-Bakr neighbourhood of Mosul as they thrust deeper into territory controlled by the Islamic State group.

Despite fighting their way into the district the day before, pockets of IS fighters were still putting up resistance.

Shots echoed down the residential street where the Iraqi forces were based and the smouldering wreckage of an armoured yellow truck bomb still packed with undetonated explosives stood at the corner of the block.

Hussein immediately turned to his troops and ordered them to follow the man's lead.

"Take bazookas and flamethrowers with you," he said.

"Be careful," he told them over the walkie-talkie as they disappeared down the street. "God bless you!"

A few minutes later the call came back that the house was empty.

- 'We've been waiting' -

As the Iraqi forces have pushed into Mosul many residents have stayed behind -- either taking a conscious decision to remain or unable to run the gauntlet to leave.

While the large numbers of civilians has hampered the use of air power against IS their presence has its upside for the Iraqi forces -- they provide valuable intelligence tip-offs on the ground.

"It is very important. It happens every time we liberate a district," Hussein told AFP.

"The most important thing about it is that there are sleeper cells of jihadists" whose whereabouts the locals can reveal.

Hussein said that the special forces were also building up a network of informants to supply information on IS movements in areas that they are yet to capture.

"When we enter a district we have informants. They contact their relatives in other districts so they become new informants for us when we enter those districts," he said.

As explosions rang out nearby some soldiers from the Najaf regiment that Hussein commands took shelter in a nearby civilian house where the family cut down oranges from a tree in the garden and offered them around.

Standing in the gateway of the house Amer Ali, 66, said residents were often all too happy to help the advancing Iraqi troops.

"We've been waiting for them with all our heart," Ali said. "We were in a big prison for two years."

Ali said that in the area around there were not many jihadists and that most withdrew ahead of the Iraqi army's entrance into the district.

But the elite Counter-Terrorism Service was taking no chances and commander Hussein told his men to go door-to-door through every house around.

Source: AFP

arabstoday
arabstoday

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

iraqis chase daesh jihadists in mosul with local help iraqis chase daesh jihadists in mosul with local help

 



Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

iraqis chase daesh jihadists in mosul with local help iraqis chase daesh jihadists in mosul with local help

 



GMT 22:19 2017 Wednesday ,09 August

OIC condemns Aleppo massacres

GMT 04:19 2017 Thursday ,09 March

HH the Emir Meets Iranian Foreign Minister

GMT 20:57 2017 Wednesday ,09 August

Nasr, EGX head for developing securities market

GMT 19:43 2017 Thursday ,09 February

Women are more likely to get arthritis in their knees

GMT 17:42 2017 Saturday ,26 August

France to loan 430 m euros to Iraq: ministry

GMT 04:27 2016 Thursday ,15 December

UAE Ambassador to Cuba meets Secretary General of ACS

GMT 12:24 2017 Monday ,13 March

How to deal with early childhood caries

GMT 09:49 2012 Thursday ,04 October

One NATO soldier dies in Afghanistan

GMT 20:21 2017 Thursday ,21 December

Arab Parliament condemns terrorist attack in Mogadishu
Arab Today, arab today
 
 Arab Today Facebook,arab today facebook  Arab Today Twitter,arab today twitter Arab Today Rss,arab today rss  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
arabstoday, Arabstoday, Arabstoday