THE fighters of Islamic State (IS) took less than a week to capture Iraq’s second-largest city in 2014. Weakened by years of neglect and corruption, the Iraqi army and its security forces crumbled, abandoning Mosul to the jihadists. The boot is now firmly on the other foot: Iraqi forces are battling to drive IS from the city. But it has taken them weeks even to reach the city limits.
On November 1st Iraqi special forces said they had penetrated Mosul’s eastern suburbs for the first time since the operation to recapture the city began on October 17th. The troops faced stiff resistance from snipers as they punched through IS lines in the Gogjali neighbourhood, an area best known for cattle farming. The soldiers have begun to search houses as they clear the area of militants and booby traps. “We will close in on Daesh [IS] from all angles and, God willing, we will cut the snake’s head. They will have no way out and no way to escape,” said Iraq’s prime minister, Haider al-Abadi. “Either they surrender or they die.”
For weeks Iraqi troops, Shia militias and Kurdish fighters, backed by Western special forces and American-led...Continue reading
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