US War Chief Makes Surprise Visit to Iraq

Local Editor

The US war secretary has arrived on an unannounced visit to Iraq to assess the progress of the offensive against the Takfiri Daesh [Arabic acronym for "ISIS" / "ISIL"] in Mosul.

Ash Carter comes fresh from meetings with Turkish leaders in Ankara aimed at allowing Turkey to play a part in the Mosul operation despite Iraqi concerns.

He has overseen a steady increase in US troop numbers in Iraq this year.

Iraqi forces began a new attempt to recapture the town of Qaraqosh near Mosul on Saturday.

The town, which was formerly known for its large Christian population, is said to be largely empty but Daesh had mined the approaches to Mosul.

Friday's Daesh attack on the city of Kirkuk, 170km [105 miles] to the south-east, now appears to be over, leaving at least 35 people dead and 120 wounded, according to medical sources.

Carter, on his third trip to Iraq in a year, is due to meet Iraqi leaders and military commanders.

More than 4,800 US soldiers are in Iraq and at least 100 US special operations personnel are operating with Iraqi units.

The offensive against Mosul, which began on Monday, is a two-pronged operation, with Iraqi government forces attacking from the south and Kurdish fighters advancing from the east.

There are some 500 Turkish troops at a base north of Mosul who have been training Sunni and Kurdish fighters since last December. Baghdad said the troops are there without permission and had called on them to withdraw. Ankara refused, and insists it will play a role in liberating the city.

A US military officer said Daesh had set up a multi-layered defense in and around Mosul. The outer rings of this defense are what the US military calls disruption zones, where the Takfiri militants are expected to counter the Iraqi advance through the use of mortars and rockets, suicide bombers, road obstacles and car bombs.

The official said the US does not expect this to include high-intensity force-on-force combat in these outer rings; the expected Daesh focus will be on disrupting and delaying the Iraqi advance rather than trying to hold ground outside the city. The official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly, so spoke on condition of anonymity.

Concern for the fate of civilians in Mosul increased on Friday after reports that Daesh was herding villagers into the city to use them as human shields.

The UN is also investigating reports 40 people were shot dead by Daesh militants in one village.

The US estimates there are between 3,000 and 5,000 Daesh militants in the Mosul area, but some of the top leaders had likely fled the city. A key factor will be how long those mid-level commanders stay in the city, or if they decide to leave.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team