Torture videos cast shadow over Iraqi forces’ west Mosul offensive

Five Daesh commanders, including the group’s “governor” for the city of Mosul, have been killed by airstrikes carried out by a US -led coalition in the city’s western districts, according to the Iraqi army.

The tight streets and confines will also make it likely that west Mosul will be the site of major urban warfare in the coming months with expectations that civilian casualties and losses to Iraqi forces will be significant.

Iraqi forces captured two villages on Sunday as they advanced towards western Mosul to reclaim the land that is still under ISIS control.

The operation to retake Mosul, formerly ISIS’ most important stronghold, began in mid-October.

Iraqi forces have launched an operation to retake the western half of Mosul from the Daesh militant group.

The leaflets say Iraqi forces are already making advancements and are “providing guidance and recommendations” for citizens ahead of the offensive.

But the layout of Mosul’s west side could make liberating the city especially challenging, military experts and human rights advocates have said.

Late Wednesday, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said Iraqi forces were “on the verge of defeating” Daesh in Mosul.

Up to 400,000 civilians could be displaced by the offensive as residents of western Mosul suffer food and fuel shortages and markets are closed, United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq Lise Grande told Reuters on Saturday.

He added, “Safe escape routes for civilians must also be established as soon as possible”.

The offensive aims to reverse the Islamic State’s stunning advance into cities and towns across Iraq in the summer of 2014, a humiliating defeat for Nouri al-Maliki, Abadi’s predecessor as premier, and a setback that raised concerns about the morale and capabilities of Iraq’s military. Iraqi forces had initially planned to advance on the city from the east and south simultaneously, but as they became bogged down in eastern Mosul, the southern front was put on hold.

Another blast was carried out when an attacker detonated his explosive vest near a popular restaurant at a commercial area, known as My Fair Lady, in the al-Zuhour neighborhood of eastern Mosul.

That is in contrast to the operations to take back other cities from the Islamic State, including Ramadi and Sinjar, which were laid waste by airstrikes. This operation marks the first major ground offensive.