The United States has seen reports of suicide bombers who try to attack the Iraqi forces as they move in, Davis said, as well as reports of civilians being forcibly dressed in Iraqi military uniforms and publicly executed for propaganda purposes by ISIL fighters.
While it’s an ugly fight, Davis said, “we’ve seen very good progress in day one.”
Long, Tough Battle Expected
And while a lot of movement must take place for the Iraqi forces to get into Mosul, Davis noted, “It is very much under way.”
An estimated 10,000 Kurdish security forces and 18,000 Iraqi security forces are involved in the effort, Davis said, and about 2,000 Iraqi federal police follow behind Iraqi fighters as towns and villages are cleared. Those numbers could increase as more Iraqis are trained, he noted.
On the high end, he said, the estimates of ISIL fighters in Mosul and around the surrounding Ninevah province could be as high as 5,000.
While the fight to liberate Mosul from ISIL’s two-year stronghold is anticipated to be a long and tough battle, Davis said, the Iraqi security forces are ready for it adding, “We will stand by them,” he added, “and we have given them the tools they need to succeed in this.”
Tidd Cautions Nations to Watch ISIL
Navy Adm. Kurt W. Tidd, commander of U.S. Southern Command, told reporters at the Pentagon today that nations around the globe must be mindful that the ISIL caliphate ideology has proven to be “damaging, destructive and has created [an] enormous security problem in the Middle East.”
Comments are closed.