The
Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) made significant gains in northeastern Mosul from
December 6 to 12, but struggled to advance in the southeast. The ISF ordered a
change in tactic on December 4 in order to address the lopsided eastern
offensive, attempting to make rapid advances in the southeast rather than grind
through neighborhood-by-neighborhood clearing operations. The shift, however,
failed drastically when the rapid gains left the ISF open to ISIS
counterattacks, resulting in heavy casualties on December 6 and 7. In response,
the ISF moved units previously allocated to breach Mosul’s southwestern
neighborhoods to reinforce efforts in the southeast on December 10.
The
Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) pushed to accelerate and complete operations in
eastern Mosul from December 6 to 12 in order to reach the Tigris River and
launch an offensive into western Mosul as the second month of the operation
comes to an end. Efforts in the southeast, largely under the command of the
Iraqi Army, however, have struggled to match efforts in the northeast, led by
the elite Counter Terrorism Forces (CTS).
The
CTS, with the support the 16th Iraqi Army Division entering from
the north, made significant gains in northeastern Mosul from December 6 to 12.
These gains have been the result of weeks of intensive and difficult
block-by-block clearing operations. The CTS used this tactic in operations in
Ramadi and Fallujah; it is not having the same level of effectiveness in Mosul
as it did before, largely due to the dense civilian population remaining in the
city whom ISIS has used as human shields. As a result the CTS requires additional time to advance, but it
is still able to make gains against ISIS because of its superior skills and
experience in urban warfare.
In
the southeast quarter, the less experienced Iraqi Army has not been able to
overcome ISIS’s resistance by grinding through block-by-block. As a solution, the
ISF ordered a change in tactic on December 4, calling for “surprise” operations that would seek rapid extensions
into ISIS-held areas. The tactic was put to the test on December 6, when a unit
from the 9th Iraqi Army Armored Division made a quick offshoot west in order to
retake the Salaam Hospital, near the bank
of the Tigris River. The move, however, left the ISF open to ISIS
counterattacks and ISIS, hidden in the area, launched a massive ambush on the unit on December 6 and 7.
The failure required a Coalition airstrike and a rescue
by the CTS to extract the unit on December 7, which
reported one hundred casualties.
The
ISF and Coalition are now focusing efforts in the southeast in order to
accelerate the entire eastern operation. The ISF moved three brigades from the 5th Federal Police Division, or roughly 4,000 men, from the southern axis to reinforce the ISF in the southeast on December 10.
These forces, previously allocated to spearhead operations into the Mosul
airport and military base, will reportedly operate in the same neighborhood of
the failed hospital offensive. They are currently mobilizing in Hamdaniya,
southeast of Mosul, before they move into the city itself. Additionally,
sources reported that a Coalition airstrike targeted the fifth and final bridge connecting east and west Mosul. The destruction of the bridge
will reduce ISIS’s ability to transport equipment and people into eastern Mosul
and will help anti-ISIS forces box in remaining ISIS militants in order to
advance west. If the ISF can succeed in pushing ISIS out of southeastern Mosul,
forces in the southeast may move to breach Mosul’s airport and military base
from the east where it could establish a forward operating base for further operations
into western Mosul.
