The Iraqi's are trying to take their city back, but the Islamic State fights back. Last October 17, 2016, Haider al-Abadi, the Prime Minister of Iraq, declared at the start of the operation to reclaim the last major fort of the militant group, Mosul, that the civilians from the said city will be liberated from the brutality and terrorism that ISIS gave.
He also claimed that at the end of the war, everyone will celebrate for the freedom that they will achieve. The Islamic State had conquered the city of Mosul since 2014 and they established a government of their own there. Then after several months they began to take towns and cities from Syria and Iraq to expand their territory.
The Iraqi forces advanced to recapture the town of Bartella which is 15 km east of Mosul. And since the nearest town has been reclaimed, it will give the Iraq's counter-terrorism forces the advantage to retake Mosul. BBC News reported that the response of the Islamic State to the resistance is suicide car bombs. They also left the city to waste as they set fire to a chemical plant in Mosul as they retreated from the advancing counter-terrorist troops.
Separately on Thursday, it was declared by the US that an American soldier has been killed due to a roadside bomb attack happened in northern Iraq. Gen Townsend speaking from an artillery position said, "This is a brutal opponent that has to be stopped!"
There are still about 1.5 million civilians in the city and they have been struggling because of the war. There are those who are forced to flee from the city because of the fighting. According to The Atlantic, it was estimated by an Iraqi Kurdish general that it could take two months to reclaim the city of Mosul. They are careful with their planning since the IS might have laid several traps for them. Not to mention, the militant group possess improvised explosives and a possibility of chemical weapons.
There may be about 5, 000 IS fighters still in the city and there have been unconfirmed reports of the militants' leaders fleeing the Mosul. There is also no news about the whereabouts of the Islamic State's leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
