Iraqi forces continue to try to invade Mosul’s Old City district, and continue to struggle mightily at getting anywhere, as heavy resistance from ISIS forces, and heavy sniper fire leave them on their heels.
While the Iraqi government had previously predicted the whole city would be conquered by the end of last month, the reality is that the front line has scarcely moved in the last three weeks, and officials say ISIS is putting up “professional level” resistance.
The resistance is largely a function of the US-Iraqi tactics of surrounding the city to cut off any escape. While initially predicted to be demoralizing to ISIS forces it has done the opposite, and convinced them to fight to the death.
For the invasion of Mosul, that appears to leave the Iraqi troops, who were mostly never trained for urban combat, fighting one of the most intense urban combat scenes in years, and trudging along at a snail’s pace with no end in sight.
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