Iraqi commander predicts Islamic State withdrawal to western Mosul
By Stephen Kalin BARTELLA, Iraq (Reuters) - The commander of the Iraqi special forces who are spearheading the offensive to recapture the Islamic State stronghold of Mosul said on Thursday that they had gained a foothold in the city quicker than expected. Lieutenant-General Abdul Ghani al-Assadi also raised the possibility that if his elite troops made further progress they might try to sweep through the eastern half of Mosul all the way to the River Tigris, bypassing some districts. "If I want to speed up the operation, we may not take some areas and instead isolate them to prevent movement. That would reduce the time needed to reach the right bank," he told Reuters at a command post east of Mosul. He predicted that Islamic State fighters would withdraw to the group's stronghold on the western bank of the River Tigris. Assadi said the jihadists' defenses in eastern Mosul so far appeared to be weaker than they had been in Ramadi, the western city retaken by Iraqi forces late last year. "Instead of the days we had set aside for these battles, they ended in just a few hours," he said, referring to towns and villages retaken in the past two weeks. Three Counter Terrorism Services (CTS) divisions are targeting 38 neighborhoods across the eastern half of Mosul, Assadi said. Iraqi and Kurdish forces are also advancing on the city from multiple directions, but the eastern front has seen the quickest gains in an offensive launched less than three weeks ago with the backing of a U.S.-led coalition providing heavy air support and guidance on the ground. CTS forces breached the eastern boundary of Mosul, the last major Iraqi city under Islamic State control, earlier this week but since then they have not made significant headway deeper into the city. The western side of the city remains largely open to a vast desert leading to Syria, which Islamic State fighters are still able to access in small numbers. Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi told his followers earlier on Thursday there could be no retreat in a "total war" against the forces arrayed against them. The group reportedly blew up a bridge linking the city's two sides to prevent fighters abandoning eastern districts. (Reporting By Stephen Kalin; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
