Western-backed Iraqi forces have begun shelling parts of west Mosul, residents said, in preparation for a new front against Daesh seven weeks into a difficult campaign to drive the militants from the city.
Federal police forces, stationed a few miles south of Mosul, on the west bank of the Tigris River that divides the city, have long said they aim to advance toward the airport on the southwestern edge.
Military commanders hope that by opening a second front within the city they can increase pressure on the few thousand terrorists who have deployed suicide bombers, snipers and militant cells against elite Iraqi troops in eastern districts.
An audio statement from Daesh’s new spokesman on Monday urged the militants in Tal Afar to stand their ground.
“Destroy their vehicles, raid them ... in their shelters so they can taste some of your misery and do not talk yourselves into fleeing,” Abi Al-Hassan Al-Muhajer said in an audio recording posted online.
Speaking by telephone from western neighborhoods, residents reported what they said was the first artillery or mortar bombardment of the area.
“About 10 mortar bombs fell on the neighborhood, coming from the south, as the Iraqi forces approached...during the past 24 hours,” a resident of the Mosul Al-Jadida district told Reuters late on Sunday. “It has sparked panic among civilians because this is the first time it has happened in our area.”
He said the bombardment had led to a virtual curfew in the district, with people afraid to leave their homes.
“One of the mortar bombs exploded 100 meters from our house, killing three youths and wounding others,” he said.
In the adjacent neighborhood of Mansour, a resident said the bombardment was an ominous development. “We’re worried there will be a repeat of the scenario in the eastern districts which have seen humanitarian disasters,” he said.
An Iraqi police source, speaking from the front line south west of Mosul, said police rockets or mortars were not yet within range of the edge of the city.
But a military source said French artillery forces, who are supporting the police units, had been firing in the south. The US-led air coalition has also conducted some airstrikes.
Another Mosul resident said on Monday there had been “constant” airstrikes against targets around the airport and in the Tel Roman district on the southwestern edge of the city.
Militants were reported to be on the move. People said they saw 40 or 50 pickup trucks with rocket launchers on top leaving Wadi Agab, an industrial area on the western limits of the city targeted by strikes, and moving to residential areas nearer the expected new front line.
A shopowner near the industrial area said he saw a long queue of pickups leaving the industrial area on Sunday. “This morning I saw more vehicles leaving. I counted at least 50 trucks,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Czech Republic is deploying medical personnel to Iraq as part of international efforts to combat the Daesh group.
The Czech Defense Ministry said a surgical field team of 17 left Prague early Monday. The team is heading to a US Navy base located some 70 km south of Mosul.

Source: Arab News