MOSUL, Iraq, Oct. 20 (UPI) — Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Thursday said the battle to free Mosul from Islamic State control has been going faster than planned.
Abadi made the comment during a video teleconference call to western leaders who were in Paris.
“The fighting forces are currently pushing forward toward the town more quickly that we thought and more quickly than we had established in our plan for this campaign,” Abadi said, also praising the shared effort between Iraqi security forces, the Kurdish Peshmerga and the U.S.-led international coalition.
Iraq’s elite counter-terrorism unit, which has been trained and supported by U.S. forces, participated in the battle for Mosul for the first time on Thursday. About six Humvees from the unit were near the besieged town of Bartala, about 6 miles east of Mosul. The town was bombarded with artillery prior to the unit’s entry.
The Kurdish Peshmerga, which has for months aided Iraqi security forces by capturing territory surrounding Mosul, on Thursday launched a “large-scale operation” focusing north of the city in attempts to solidify territorial gains made already.
As more people flee an embattled Mosul, more of its former residents are speaking out about conditions under IS rule, which is based from a strict interpretation of Sharia law.
“In the beginning it was alright,” a Mosul resident who fled told CNN. “But then they started ordering around and killing people. Everyone is afraid of them.”
“From the outside it looks nice,” another resident who fled said. “But in reality, it’s a life of fear and hardship.”
Rudaw reported Mosul’s residents faced severe financial conditions after the city — Iraq’s second largest — was captured by the Islamic State in June 2014. Most basic goods such as food needed to be imported from the Islamic State’s second main stronghold, the Syrian city of Raqqa.
About 70 percent of Mosul’s foreign imports came from Syria, while some food and clothing came from Turkey, Rudaw reported. People with chronic diseases do not have access to life-saving medicines. Infants die due to the lack of milk and medication.
The main source of income for most of Mosul’s residents comes from locally grown wheat, barley and livestock. About 20 percent of Mosul’s residents are considered to be living well due to collaboration with the Islamic State.
The desperate conditions led many of Mosul’s residents to sell a kidney. The practice became so common that the Islamic State became involved in the process — paying residents for their kidneys and selling those kidneys away for a higher profit.
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