A US serviceman was killed during the operation to liberate the Iraqi city of Mosul from Daesh.
US Navy Officer Killed in Mosul Operation Came Under Small Arms Fire
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201610251046722348-us-officer-killed-mosul/
US Navy Chief Petty Officer Jason Finan was killed when the Kurdish Peshmerga troops he was embedded with came under small arms fire during the US-led coalition operation to retake the Iraqi city of Mosul from Daesh, Operation Inherent Resolve said in a press release on Tuesday.
"Finan was behind the forward line of troops advising Peshmerga forces during their offensive on Mosul when the element he was with came under small arms fire," the release stated. The coalition said Finan’s vehicle struck an improvised explosive device while he was repositioning to a more advantageous position, and he died from his wounds at a troop hospital in Erbil.
The US Defense Department identified Finan on Friday and White House spokesperson Josh Earnest said the naval officer had been supporting Peshmerga forces in the Mosul offensive.
US officials have repeatedly emphasized that no US service members are on the front lines of the coalition operations.
On October 17, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi announced the start of the Mosul operation. More than 30,000 Iraqi and 4,000 Kurdish fighters are taking part in the offensive, backed by about 5,000 US troops and coalition airstrikes.
Reports from Western Iraq said Israeli spies and reporters have used forged passports to enter the country after the start of the Mosul Liberation Operation.
Israelis Sneaking into Iraq
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Israel is not recognized by Iraq, similar to many other Muslim states, and its citizens are not allowed into Iraq.
But two major Israeli networks have sent their crews to the battlefield near Mosul and are releasing daily reports from the war.
The Israeli coverage from Western Iraq caused concerns among the Arab, specially Iraqi media, and several reporters have approached the two teams to verify how they have entered the country.
Hedas Haroush, an Al-Masdar reporter, said that "the Israelis have used forged European passports to get into Iraq.
Ever since the war started numerous reports have surfaced the media claiming that Israeli and Saudi intelligence officers have been sighted among the ISIL terrorists, mostly to help the terrorist cult organize its structure and plan its war strategy.
In the first such case,
Iraqi army sources in Mosul testified that tens of Israeli officers were among the first group of foreign nationals that deployed in Mosul only a month after the city fell to ISIL in 2014.
On Monday Iraqi news outlets reported that Daesh militants had stripped Iraqi families of their personal belongings near the gates of Mosul, a northern Iraq city still under extremist control. Three adults and a child have reportedly died at the gates from exhaustion and fatigue.
As Mosul Battle Rages, Daesh Steals From Displaced Iraqi Families at City Gates
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201610251046727485-daesh-steals-from-displaced-families/
"Today, ISIS militants put strict checkpoints at the entrances of the city of Mosul for the families that were forcibly brought from the villages liberated by the joint security forces," Iraqi News quoted from Al Sumaria News.
The news outlet added that "The [Daesh] detachments stripped the families of all private holdings, including of gold jewelry, money and cell phones," and, "Three elderly persons, including a woman, as well as a child died at the entrances of Mosul as a result of fatigue, tiredness and ill-treatment by the [Daesh] militants."
United Nations human rights workers have been receiving reports of human rights violations by Daesh since the Iraqi government began retaking Mosul over a week ago. According to the BBC,
15 civilians were killed and had their bodies thrown into the river as a means to terrorize locals, and three children were killed after they fell behind while being forcibly marched from one village to the next.
It was also reported Sunday that the extremists had killed 50 former Iraqi policemen.
A US warplane hit a girls' school in the south of the Iraqi city of Mosul on October 21, the Russian General Staff's chief said Tuesday.
US Air Force Jet Struck Girls' School in Iraq's Mosul - Russian Military
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201610251046710874-us-jet-hits-school/
"On October 21, a US Air Force plane carried out an airstrike against a girls' school in the southern part of the city of Mosul," Lt. Gen. Sergei Rudskoi said.
More than 60 civilians died and 200 were wounded because of the US-led coalition's airstrikes on residential areas in Mosul and its outskirts in the last three days, he said.
"There is an ample evidence of the US-led coalition's airstrikes on residential areas, schools and other civilian infrastructure in Mosul and other inhabited localities in the Nineveh province. Over 60 people, including children, died as a result of these actions over the last three days. More than 200 were wounded."
The United Nations does not possess information about civilian deaths caused by the anti-Daesh campaign in Mosul.
UN Lacks Data on Civilian Casualties From Anti-Daesh Campaign in Iraq’s Mosul
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201610251046724769-un-mosul-civilian-casualties/
Casualty figures will be made public as soon as they are available from UN agencies represented on the ground, the spokesman for the secretary-general’s office pledged.
The US-led coalition against Daesh will initiate an investigation into civilian casualties’ reports in the Iraqi city of Mosul if Russian authorities provide details on the allegation, a spokesperson for the Operation Inherent Resolve told Sputnik on Tuesday.
US-Led Coalition Asks Russia to Provide Data on Mosul Civilian Casualties Claims
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201610251046725285-coalition-mosul-civilian-casualties-russia/
Earlier in the day, the Russian General Staff said that more than 60 civilians were killed and 200 wounded in coalition airstrikes on Mosul residential districts during the last three days.
"We would require more specific information in order to determine if Coalition aircraft were involved in this alleged incident," the spokesperson stated. "If Russian authorities have further information on this allegation, we encourage them to share it with us to enable an investigation." The spokesperson noted that the coalition takes all allegations of civilian casualties seriously and adheres to strict targeting processes.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said that Moscow is concerned with the ongoing operation to liberate Mosul due to humanitarian reasons.
Russia Has Serious Humanitarian Concerns Over Coalition's Mosul Operation
https://sputniknews.com/world/201610251046715489-russia-iraq-mosul-humanitarian/
From our side, we do not intend to throw humanitarian tantrums over the participation of the Americans and other members of the anti-ISIL [Islamic State] coalition in the ongoing operation to liberate Mosul, but there is also a reason for humanitarian concern there," Bogdanov said.
The Russian General Staff said Tuesday that more than 60 civilians, including children, had been killed and 200 wounded in the US-led coalition’s attacks on residential districts of Mosul in the past three days.
The ISIL terrorist group is using special tactics and methods to block the Iraqi army, popular and Pishmerga forces' further advance and liberation of more lands in Mosul.
ISIL's 6 Main Tactics against Iraqi Forces in Mosul
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According to the Iran-based Arabic-language al-Alam news channel, the ISIL uses 6 tactics.
Planting mines and bombs: The ISIL which has occupied Mosul since 2014 has had enough time to plant bombs and mines in different regions and corridors.
Suicide attacks: Suicide attacks - by cars or trucks loaded with explosives, booby-trapped bombs, or gunmen wearing suicide belts - are now an established tactic used by the ISIL throughout Iraq, Syria and elsewhere, including Mosul.
Tunnels: A key part of the ISIL's strategy for Mosul has been digging a network of tunnels in the city and surrounding towns and villages.
This hidden network allows fighters to escape, hide, move equipment and personnel without detection from the Iraqi and coalition aircraft and launch surprise attacks on pro-government troops.
Surprise/Diversion attacks: As the Iraqi forces approach Mosul, the ISIL has launched surprise attacks in other parts of the country, in an effort to distract the army and its allies and divert their attention and resources elsewhere.
Retaliation operations: The ISIL takes revenge from the residents of regions who welcome the Iraqi forces.
In a recent case in a village near Nimrud, Southeast of Mosul, about 40 people who had welcomed the Iraqi forces were reportedly executed by the ISIL on Saturday night.
People in the village said that the ISIL terrorists had hid when the Iraqi forces went through their village.
Human shields: There are also fears that the terror group use the civilian populations as human shields against the Iraqi forces to stop, delay or slow down the pace of ther advance, similar to what it has already done in previous battles in Iraq.
The UN earlier said it was concerned by reports that the ISIL had taken 550 families from villages around Mosul as human shields, as part of an apparent policy to prevent civilians escaping.
Iraqi police forces arrested former dictator Saddam Hussein's cousin in Daquq region, South of Kirkuk, who was also a senior commander of the ISIL terrorist group.
Saddam's ISIL Cousin Arrested in Kirkuk
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Iraq's Sumeriya news quoted Kirkuk Province's Police Commander Colonel Sarhad Qader as saying that Nazar Hamad Abdolqani, a top ISIL commander who contributed a major role in the terrorist cult's Friday assault on Kirkuk, has been captured.
According to the police, Abdolqani was a member of Saddam's bodyguards and had joined the ISIL in the Southwestern parts of Kirkuk after his cousin was overthrown.
Police forces arrested Abdolqani in a water tanker along with 4 Kalashnikov rifles and some ammunition.
The Iraqi security forces announced on Monday that they had arrested many of the ISIL militants responsible for the last Friday’s deadly attack in Kirkuk city.
They also said that the ISIL commander in Kirkuk was killed while resisting arrest.
Abu Qudama, a senior ISIL military figure in Hawija, who led the group in the Friday’s attack was killed in a firefight.
Security forces in Iraq's Kurdistan region announced that they had arrested several ISIL militants responsible for the last Friday’s deadly attack in Kirkuk city.
ISIL Militants behind Kirkuk Attack Arrested, Ringleader Killed
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"ISIL terrorists behind the Kirkuk attack were arrested during an operation by Counter-Terrorism Department in coordination with the local security and intelligence forces,” the Kurdistan Security Council said in a statement, ARA News reported.
The Kurdistan Security Council also said that the ISIL’s commander in Kirkuk was killed while resisting arrest.
“Abu Qudama, a senior ISIL military figure in Haweija, led the group responsible for Friday’s attack. He was killed in a firefight,” the council said.
