- Sputnik International
World
Get the latest news from around the world, live coverage, off-beat stories, features and analysis.

‘Catastrophic Success’: Daesh' Rapid Defeat in Mosul Could Lead to Chaos

© AP Photo / FileIn this file photo taken Monday, June 23, 2014, fighters from the Islamic State group parade in a commandeered Iraqi security forces armored vehicle down a main road at the northern city of Mosul, Iraq.
In this file photo taken Monday, June 23, 2014, fighters from the Islamic State group parade in a commandeered Iraqi security forces armored vehicle down a main road at the northern city of Mosul, Iraq. - Sputnik International
Subscribe
As an Iraqi military operation to reclaim the country’s second largest city of Mosul from Daesh militants goes into full play, the fast success of the offensive could lead to unpredictable – and possibly disastrous – consequences, a US expert specializing in Middle East Policy claimed.

Islamic State militants parade in a commandeered Iraqi security forces vehicle on a main road at the northern city of Mosul. - Sputnik International
Anti-Daesh Coalition Offensive to Retake Mosul ‘Already Started’
The swift liberation of Mosul by government forces backed by Western powers could result in a situation that Michael Knights, an expert from the Washington Institute for Middle East Policy, calls a "catastrophic success." The defeat of Daesh could trigger fierce struggle of a variety rival groups to gain the power in the city, he asserted.

Despite the fact Brett McGurk, an envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter the Daesh, describing the offensive launched against extremists in Mosul as “low, steady squeeze,” the progress in operation is going faster than one could have expected, Knights said.

Mosul has recently become the most shelled city by US-Led Coalition in the course of anti-Daesh effort across Iraq and Syria, bearing the palm from Ramadi. Nine of 20 of the coalition’s latest airstrikes targeted Daesh propaganda sites and the group’s manufacturing facilities.

Former Taliban fighters look on as they stand alongside their weapons in Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar province on March 19, 2014 - Sputnik International
'Agents of Destruction': How CIA Helped Create Islamist Frankenstein
Meanwhile, troops of four Iraqi army brigades are being deployed within 40 kilometers of the Mosul’s southeastern border, and new forces are expected to join them.

Two US-equipped Kurdish Peshmerga brigades are also prepared to join the fight for the city, Knights added. Other Peshmerga forces are distributed around Mosul’s eastern and northern borders.

The dissent against Daesh is also growing within Mosul itself, Knights continued, citing reports of vigilante brigades fighting against the extremists.

According to figures provided by the Washington Institute for Middle East Policy, there are more than 100,000 former Iraqi servicemen not linked to Daesh in Mosul against seven thousand of active Daesh supporters. The amount of weapons in Mosul is sufficient to equip every citizen of the city with population of 450 thousand people. In case of anti-Daesh uprising, the citizens could reasonably take advantage of extremists.

This file photo taken on February 23, 2016 shows a Red Crescent convoy carrying humanitarian aid arriveing in Kafr Batna, in the rebel-held Eastern Ghouta area, on the outskirts of the capital Damascus during an operation in cooperation with the UN to deliver aid to thousands of besieged Syrians - Sputnik International
As Daesh Gets Pushed Out ‘More Chemical Attacks Possible in Coming Weeks’
If Daesh is crushed sooner than American and Iraqi military strategists assessed, another conflict between forces that are now joined by a common enemy, but in their nature have different goals, could be sparked, Knights suggeted. The groups include Iraqi Internal Security Forces (ISF), Kurdish forces, Shia militias, anti-ISIL Sunni. The post-Daesh turmoil could also attract to the inner affairs international actors like Turkey and Iran, he added.

Under one of possible scenarios, in Knights view, Mosul self-liberators could easily stop the Iraqi government and Kurds at the doorstep of the city and trigger bitter “interfactional” struggle. To what consequences it could lead, we could judge looking at the fate of Beirut, the Leabanon capital that has seen decades of local fights.

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала