The U.S.-backed Iraqi Security Forces are locked in a bitter street-by-street fight in Mosul, as the Islamic State continues to mount massive suicide and IED attacks.
The campaign for Mosul has dragged on for more than two months. Pentagon Spokesman Captain Jeff Davis told reporters Tuesday the Pentagon only estimates 15-20% of the city has been retaken. To make matters worse, the remaining areas of the city to be retaken are densely populated by civilians, rendering U.S. airpower ineffective.
“I have seen things in Mosul that I will never forget my whole life. I have seen entire families get killed because of ISIS car bombs,” one Iraqi soldier lamented to The New York Times. The Mosul campaign depends heavily on U.S.-trained elite counter-terrorism fighters known as “The Golden Division.” Officials within U.S. Central Command worried to Politico that the Golden Division is suffering “horrific” daily casualties, that could all but destroy it by the end of the battle. – READ MORE
‘We Are Amid Hell’: ISIS Slaughtering ‘Entire Families’ As Fighting Stalls
[ditty_news_ticker id=”25027″]