The Kurdish president Masoud Barzani emphasized during the meeting that post-liberation management of Mosul is also of vast importance, reiterating his stance of meticulously planning for Mosul after its liberation from ISIS. The U.S. -Iraqi attack will begin as early as October; at present, the coalition forces are planning their approach, which will involve first seizing smaller towns near the city’s outskirts.
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The United States deployed an additional 400 troops to Iraq earlier this month as local forces prepare for an assault on Iraq’s second largest city.
The US forces will be providing support, logistics and supplies for an offensive meant to retake the last major city in Iraq held by Islamic State (Isis). The strip will provide a staging area and enable the striking of suspected IS chemical weapons facilities nearby.
“Experts and optimists believe that recapturing Mosul, the main ISIS bastion in Iraq, is expected to be the beginning of the end of the outfit”, the source added.
“When the (Iraqi Security Force) is ready to move on in their operations to get after Mosul, we’ll be prepared to support that and the airfield will be ready”, Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Harrigian told reporters Tuesday at the Pentagon.
‘This is a partnered effort.
“Protect yourself, don’t be human shields for the enemy, leave the town immediately”, a leaflet shown by the Iraqi military to CNN said. “I expect that we’ll have to fight them, taking neighborhood by neighborhood, alley by alley, and sometimes house by house”.
“We are now in a position where ISIL here in Iraq is increasingly on the run and on the ropes, and the urgent work ahead is to complete that effort”.
Despite that fearful prospect, what concerned me most was is what Yassin said about what could happen after the liberation of Mosul.
“There have been multiple meetings between leaders of the Peshmerga and the Iraqi army”.
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Influential Shi-ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has been mustering thousands-strong demonstrations to demand government reforms.
