Iraqi forces continue to run up against significant ISIS resistance within Mosul’s Old City, despite repeated declarations of victory by the Iraqi government, with the latest reports out of the area suggesting that ISIS may have more territory than previously admitted.
A few days ago, a drone video showed “hundreds” of Mosul civilians remain trapped in ISIS-held territory, but today reports suggested that in reality, there may still be tens of thousands of civilians in the parts of the Old City that are effectively still ISIS controlled.
The longer this goes on, the more embarrassing the repeated claims of victory, and the “celebrations” are going to be for the Abadi government,which appears to have dramatically jumped the gun in declaring the end of ISIS, declarations that were made while fighting continued to rage.
ISIS forces inside Mosul are clearly still fighting, and not just with Iraqi troops that happen along in the Old City,as reports today had at least three artillery shells fired from ISIS-held Old City areas landing in the government-held territory across the Tigris River.
ISIS fighters outside Mosul also continue to fight over the village of Imam Gharbi, which they successfully overran recently, and still control at least half of.
Apparently Mosul has not been destroyed enough.
Its less the IS and more whatever’s left of Saddam’s Iraqi Sunnis; the Shia couldn’t be happier to blast away.