Posted October 23, 2016 19:41:50
Iraqi forces have advanced to within five kilometres of Mosul in an offensive against the Islamic State group's last major stronghold in Iraq.
Key points:
- Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga forces close in on Mosul
- Local Minister warns battle for Mosul will be a long one
- Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi spotted near Mosul
Interior Minister of the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) Karim Sinjari said he expected the battle, with what is believed to be between 4,000 and 8,000 militants, would not be a quick victory.
Mr Sinjari, who is also acting Defence Minister in the area, told Reuters Islamic State fighters will put up a fierce fight because of Mosul's symbolic value for the hardline Sunni jihadis.
"If they resist in the city, especially in old Mosul, it will be a big fight ... the roads are very thin, very narrow," Mr Sinjari said.
"You can't have vehicles, you can't have tanks. So it will be a fight, person by person."
Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared a caliphate and himself the leader of the world's Muslims at a Mosul mosque after seizing Iraq's second largest city in 2014.
"If Mosul is finished the caliphate they announced is finished. If they lose in Mosul, they will have no place, just Raqqa," Mr Sinjari said.
The Syrian city of Raqqa is Islamic State's other major stronghold.
"They will have to go to Syria. They will be surrounded in one area."
The much-heralded battle to capture Mosul began last week and is expected to be the most important battle fought in Iraq since the US-led invasion in 2003.
Iraq has come a long way since June 2014 when five Iraqi army divisions crumbled as Islamic State swept into Mosul.
Islamic state leader al-Baghdadi sighted in Mosul
It is not clear whether al-Baghdadi, an Iraqi who spent time in a US military jail in Iraq, will risk death or capture and join his fighters in the battle for predominantly Sunni Muslim Mosul, home to more than 1.5 million people.
"According to unconfirmed reports Abu Bakr was in Mosul three days ago. People saw him visiting fighters and encouraging them. We are not sure he was present, this is information," Mr Sinjari said.
He said the jihadi group, which comprises former Sunni officers from Saddam Hussein's army, had built underground tunnels and dug a trench around Mosul which they filled with oil to set on fire when the offensive gets closer to the city.
"There are many reports that there are elements that have agreed to kill members of Daesh. Some members of Daesh were killed in the street," he said, using the Arabic acronym for Islamic State, which rose from the ashes of al-Qaeda in Iraq.
"They don't want Daesh. Some were killed and some left.
"These are people who have weapons, who carry out attacks in specific areas at night and slip away."
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Photo: Peshmerga forces prepare their anti-tank guided missiles in front of Islamic State militants' positions at the town of Naweran near Mosul, Iraq October 20, 2016. (Reuters: Zohra Bensemra) -
Photo: Smoke rises from clashes in the east of Mosul during clashes with Islamic State militants, Iraq, October 17, 2016. (Reuters: Azad Lashkari) -
Photo: Kurdish security forces take up a position as they fight overlooking the Islamic State-controlled in villages surrounding Mosul, in Khazer, about 30 kilometres east of Mosul, Iraq on October 17, 2016. (AP) -
Photo: Iraqi army soldiers raise their weapons in celebration on the outskirts of Mosul, Iraq, Thursday, Oct. 20, 2016. (AP) -
Photo: Displaced people who have fled ISIS territory gather in the village of Tinah, south west of Mosul. (Supplied: Thomas Robinson/Oxfam) -
Photo: Smoke rising over rows of tents at the Tinah camp, from oil fields burning in the distance. (Supplied: Thomas Robinson/Oxfam) -
Photo: Two young children living at Golat camp in Debaga north of Mosul pose for a photo, while men construct more tents in the background. (Supplied: Amy Christian/Oxfam) -
Photo: Mokhtar (village head) Nisr Amr, 35, sits with his son in the ruins of his father's house in the village of Imam Gharbi, some 70km south of Mosul. October 13, 2016. (Oxfam: Sam Tarling ) -
Photo: Omar stands inside by the ruins of his brother's house in the village of Imam Gharbi, some 70km south of Mosul, Iraq, on October 13, 2016.
The house was destroyed by Islamic State, when they took control of the village in 2014. (Oxfam: Sam Tarling ) -
Photo: Children run beside military vehicles passing by in the village of Imam Gharbi, some 70km south of Mosul, Iraq. October 13, 2016. (Oxfam: Sam Tarling ) -
Photo: Smoke from burning oil fields in Al Qarrayah fills the sky near the village of Imam Gharbi, some 70km south of Mosul, Iraq, on October 13, 2016. (Oxfam: Sam Tarling) -
Photo: Children watch military vehicles pass by in the village of Imam Gharbi, some 70km south of Mosul, Iraq, on October 13, 2016. (Oxfam: Sam Tarling )
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