Battle of Mosul (2016–2017)

Battle of Mosul (2016–2017)
Part of War in Iraq (2013–2017)

Map of the advances by the Iraqi Army in Mosul city during the battle
Date16 October 2016 – 20 July 2017[a]
(9 months and 5 days)
Location
Northern Iraq
  • Mosul
  • Southwest Erbil Governorate
  • Nineveh Governorate
35°48′01″N 43°17′23″E / 35.8003°N 43.2897°E / 35.8003; 43.2897
Result

Iraqi and allied victory[10][11][12]

  • ISIL military devastated
Territorial
changes
  • The Iraqi armed forces recaptured all of eastern Mosul by 24 January 2017. The Old City and the rest of Mosul was retaken by 20 July 2017 by the Iraqi armed forces.[13][14][15][16]
  • By 3 December 2016, the Iraqi armed forces and Peshmerga had captured a total of 5,677 km2 (2,192 sq mi) and 369 surrounding villages from ISIL.[17][18][19]
  • Iraqi forces launch another offensive on 25 April 2017, to secure the Iraqi–Syrian border[20]
  • The PMU captures 360 villages, and an area of around 14,000 km2 to west of Mosul, by mid-June 2017[21]
    • Belligerents

    Iraq[1]

    • ISOF
    • Popular Mobilisation Forces
    • Kata'ib al-Imam Ali
    • Nineveh Plain Protection Units

    Kurdistan Region

    CJTF–OIR


    Supported by:
    Pakistan (intelligence sharing by ISI)[7]
    Hezbollah[8]
    Iran[9]    		 Islamic State
    Commanders and leaders
    Lt. Gen. Abdul Amir Yarallah
    (Commander of the operation)
    Lt. Gen. Talib Shaghati
    (Joint Military Command, ICTS)
    Lt. Gen. Abdul Ghani Asadi
    (Head of Counter Terrorism Command)
    Maj. Gen. Fadhil Barwari
    (ISOF-1 commander)
    Maj. Gen. Ma’an al-Saedi
    (ISOF-2 commander)[22]
    Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis[23]
    (Head of the PMU)
    Massoud Barzani
    (President of Regional Kurdish Government)[24]
    Lt. Gen. Stephen J. Townsend
    (CJTF–OIR commander)
    Muhammad Kawarithmi
    (Hezbollah commander of Iraqi operations)[8]    		 Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
    (Leader of ISIL)
    Amir Mohammed Abdul Rahman al-Mawli al-Salbi[25]
    (ISIL deputy, alleged involvement)
    Ahmad Khalaf al-Jabouri[26]
    (military commander for Mosul)
    Aymam al-Mosuli †[27]
    (Commander of the special security forces)
    Units involved
    See anti-ISIL forces order of battle See ISIL order of battle
    Strength

    Total: 108,500–114,000 fighters[28]
    • 54,000–60,000 ISF troops[29]
    •14,000 paramilitary troops[29]
    • 40,000 Peshmerga troops[29]

    OP Inherent Resolve:
    U.S. Air Force
    Royal Air Force
    French Air Force
    Turkish Air Force
    CJTF–OIR
    •450 military advisors[30]    		 6,000–12,000 militants
    (1,000+ foreigners)[31][32][33][34]
    Casualties and losses
    1,200–1,400 killed, 6,000–7,000+ wounded[35][36]
    30 killed, 70–100 wounded[37]
    2 killed, 20 wounded[38]
    3 killed[39][40]    		 7,757–10,859+ (per Iraqi commanders during the battle)[41]
    16,467 killed (per Iraqi diplomatic official)[42]
    25,000+ killed (per top Iraqi commander)[43]
    6,340 civilians killed and 17,124 injured (as of mid-March 2017, per observer Joel Wing)[44]
    8,000+ civilians killed or injured (as of 5 May 2017; per The Telegraph)[45]
    5,805 civilians killed (19 Feb.–19 June 2017, by Iraqi/Coalition strikes, per AI)[46][47]
    9,606–11,000 total killed (per AP)[48]
    40,000 civilians killed (per Asayish)[49]
    2,521+ civilians killed, 1,673 wounded (per UN)[50]
    2 French journalists killed[51][52]
    47 Iraqi journalists killed, 55 wounded (per Federation of Arab Journalists)[53]
    1 British journalist injured[54][55]
    Displaced:
    1,072,170 (per IOM)[56][57]
    920,000+ (per the UN and Iraq)[58]
    a The Iraqi Government formally declared victory on 10 July 2017,[10][11] but the fighting continued,[59][60] with heavy airstrikes and shelling,[61][62][63] until 20 July.[14][15][64] The Iraqi military and CENTCOM said that these were "clearance operations."[65][66]

    The Battle of Mosul (Arabic: معركة الموصل, Ma'rakat al-Mawṣil) was a major battle initiated by Iraq and allied forces[a] to retake the city of Mosul from the Islamic State (IS), which had seized the city years prior in June 2014.[67][68][69][70] It was the largest conventional land battle since the capture of Baghdad in 2003.[71] It was also the world's single largest military operation overall since the 2003 invasion of Iraq and was considered the toughest urban battle since World War II.[44][72][73][74]

    The operation, which was called Operation "We Are Coming, Nineveh" (قادمون يا نينوى; Qadimun Ya Naynawa),[75][76] began on 16 October 2016, with forces besieging ISIL-controlled areas in the Nineveh Governorate surrounding Mosul,[77][78][79] and continued with Iraqi troops and Peshmerga fighters engaging ISIL on three fronts outside Mosul, going from village to village in the surrounding area in the largest deployment of Iraqi troops since the 2003 invasion of Iraq.[80] At dawn on 1 November 2016, the liberation of Mosul city proper began. The first ones to engage ISIS within Mosul itself were the Iraqi Special Operations Forces who initiated their attack from the east of the city.[81] Met with fierce fighting, the government advance into the city was slowed by elaborate defenses and by the presence of civilians,[82] but the Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared "full liberation of eastern side of Mosul" on 24 January 2017.[83] Iraqi troops began their offensive to recapture western Mosul on 19 February 2017.[84]

    On 9 July 2017, the Iraqi Prime Minister arrived in Mosul to announce the victory over ISIL, and an official declaration of victory was proclaimed on 10 July.[10][11][85][86] However, heavy clashes continued in a final pocket of ISIL resistance in the Old City, for almost another two weeks.[14][15][16][87] It was estimated that removing the explosives from Mosul and repairing the city over the next five years would require $50 billion (2017 USD),[88] while Mosul's Old City alone would cost about US$1 billion to repair.[11]

    The Battle of Mosul was concurrent with the Battle of Sirte (2016) in Libya and the Raqqa campaign (2016–17) conducted by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) against ISIL's capital city and stronghold in Syria.[89]

    In 2017, John Spencer listed Mosul as one of the cities destroyed by violent combat, joining battles such as Stalingrad, Huế, Grozny, Aleppo and Raqqa.[90] It has been referred to as a "modern day Verdun".[91] During the battle, top coalition commander, Stephen J. Townsend, stated that it was "the most significant urban combat to take place since World War II".[92]

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       • 3,320–5,622 killed (Feb.–May 2017); – Mostafa, Mohamed (8 May 2017). "Ministry: more than 3000 IS militants killed in western Mosul offensive". Iraqi News. Archived from the original on 8 May 2017.; – "Iraqi forces fight to break through ISIS' last five defenses in Mosul". Rudaw Media Network. 21 May 2017. Archived from the original on 21 May 2017.
       • 1,000–1,800 (June–July 2017); – "Mosul battle: Despair and death as civilians flee". BBC News. 16 June 2017. Archived from the original on 9 July 2017.; – "Over 1,000 IS Militants Killed in Mosul's Old City: Police". Basnews.com. 10 July 2017. Archived from the original on 28 July 2017.
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       •  Total of 7,757–10,859+ reported killed
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