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Liberation of Mosul Seems to 'Coincide With Upcoming US Presidential Election'

© AFP 2023 / AHMAD AL-RUBAYESmoke billows as Iraqi forces hold a position on October 17, 2016 in the area of al-Shurah, some 45 kms south of Mosul, while advancing towards the city to retake it from the Islamic State (IS) group jihadists
Smoke billows as Iraqi forces hold a position on October 17, 2016 in the area of al-Shurah, some 45 kms south of Mosul, while advancing towards the city to retake it from the Islamic State (IS) group jihadists - Sputnik International
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On Monday, nearly 25,000 Iraqi troops launched an operation to liberate Mosul, the second-largest city in Iraq, from Daesh terrorists. The Iraqi Army was backed by Kurdish Peshmerga fighters. Turkey announced that it would also take part in the operation.

Daesh Can Hide in Mosul, Rule Through Surrogates Until US Moves Elsewhere
However, three days later the Iraq Army announced the suspension of the assault. In turn, a military and diplomatic source in Moscow said that American and Saudi intelligence agencies planned to allow over 9,000 Daesh militants leave Mosul and move to eastern Syria.

According to the source, those militants may be redeployed to eastern Syria to carry out a large scale offensive which will involve taking control over Deir ez-Zor and Palmyra.

The Baghdad government has labelled the Mosul offensive as the biggest military operation against Daesh. Some sources in the United States military say that the operation to liberate Mosul will last until the end of the month.

However, the reality is that one to two weeks are simply not enough to take control over such a large city as Mosul, cleanse it from terrorists and restore civil governance, an article in the Russian online newspaper Vzglyad read. The offensive seems to coincide with the presidential election in the US. Thus it is restricted in time and means.

An Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga fighter looks through binoculars on the top of Mount Zardak, about 25 kilometres east of Mosul, on October 6, 2016 - Sputnik International
Mosul Operation to Include a 'Corridor' for Daesh Terrorists Fleeing to Syria
"Late October is the perfect moment to end the operation. The victory in Mosul will be definitely used by the Democrats in their campaign," it read.

Furthermore, the US-led coalition will have to use a restricted range of heavy weapons and aviation because "ruined cities do not look good on the TV screen."

The author suggested that taking into account these two circumstances the Iraqi Army and Kurdish Peshmerga forces should be expected to play the key role in the operation. However, the military capabilities of Iraqi and Kurdish troops are not sufficient to defeat Daesh in such a short time.

"The offensive in Mosul is only portrayed as a military operation to liberate a large city. In fact it is not. The offensive in Mosul is all about politics. The liberation of Fallujah was a military operation. But now either the coalition will have to use heavy artillery and aerial support or the suspended offensive will turn into secret bargaining with the terrorists over their withdrawal from Mosul to Syria," the author suggested.

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