Turnabout's Fair Play: Iraqi Army Uses Daesh Weapons Against Them in Mosul

A military operation to liberate the northern Iraqi city of Mosul from Daesh terrorists is in full swing; right now, the government troops and Kurdish Peshmerga forces are fighting Daesh in the western neighborhoods of the city, where terrorists are using civilians as human shields, according to sources in the Iraqi army.

With the Mosul operation in full swing, Iraqi government troops and the Kurdish Peshmerga forces continue to clash with Daesh terrorists in the western part of the city, where the terrorists use terrified hostages as human shields, according to Iraqi army sources.

Earlier, the terrorists had used the tactic of placing explosive devices on their unmanned aerial vehicles, which led to a large number of casualties among the Iraq military and civilians, according to the sources.

Upon seizing some of the Daesh weapons during the Mosul operation, the Iraqi army began to use a similar tactic against the terrorists themselves. During the course of the offensive in western Mosul, government forces have struck blows at Daesh positions using their own bombs, the sources said.

In addition, the Iraqi army started to use weapons seized from terrorists in liberated neighborhoods of western Mosul, the sources added.

Iraqi special forces soldiers move toward the front line during fighting against Daesh in western Mosul, Iraq, March 17, 2017.

© AP Photo / Felipe Dana

 

It is also reported that a special unit in the Iraqi army has been established that uses unmanned aerial vehicles to detect Daesh snipers, who create serious obstacles to the advance of government troops.

In an interview with Sputnik Turkey, Said Mamuziny, a representative of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, said that heavy fighting between the Iraqi army and Daesh still persists in western Mosul.

"There are significant casualties among the civilian population in Mosul, where Daesh uses residents as a human shield, killing all those who try to escape from the city. Terrorists penetrate into the houses of civilians and fire at the Iraqi military from inside," he said.

Mamuziny added that the government forces had to suspend the operation in some areas of the city in order to prevent more losses among the civilians. 

"For the same reason, it was decided not to use heavy weapons in the city," something that he said stops the Iraqi army from "achieving success in Mosul."

Saying that about 70 percent of the city's territory has already been freed, Mamuziny admitted that "now it is difficult to name the exact date of the final liberation."

"However, every effort is being made so that Mosul's liberation can take place as soon as possible. As for the Iraqi army, they, in particular, should prevent the terrorists from entering residential houses and attacking the government troops," he concluded.

The terrorist group Daesh took over Mosul in June 2014, and the operation to drive Daesh out of the city started in October 2016.

The eastern part of Mosul was liberated by Iraqi and US-led coalition forces in late January. In February, the Iraqi forces began the operation aimed at liberating western Mosul from Daesh.

Abdul Sattar Habbo, Mosul municipality chief, told Sputnik last week that up to 500,000 people have fled the city since the government troops launched the Mosul operation.

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