ISIS holed up in Mosul preparation for ground attack

by Iraqi forces for the liberation of the city, especially after the statements of the international coalition coordinator against "ISIS," John Allen, on " a ground attack that will start soon against ISIS terrorist gang led by Iraqi forces with support from the coalition countries. "

The International coalition forces led by the United States is seekingt onslaught ISIS organization's main stronghold in Mosul, Iraq's second largest city with a Sunni majority and controlled by "ISIS" since the tenth of last June.

According to witnesses, ISIS organization is preparing since months for this battle to build an impervious defensive line repels any ground troops may try to enter Mosul, however, in the recent period all concrete barriers were removed in front of the institutions inside and placed at all entrances to Mosul to block any interference.

The case did not stop with the organization's defense position, but tried to put itself as an organization still has the lead, so attacks some areas adjacent to Kurdistan Region at a time work is underway in Mosul to increase their defensive fortifications.

One of the first fortifications that ISIS began is digging a trench surrounding the city of Mosul and is still continuing the work in depth of 1.5 meters and a width of 1.5 meters with a concrete barrier in the middle.

As the organization removed all the concrete barriers and fenders that surrounded government buildings and distributed in the streets and placed them on the outskirts of Mosul from the north and south, east and west where are the exists expecting to break into Mosul in the ground war.

Abu Mohammed al- Musli ( sixty years old) says : barriers are placed in Kokjla area (east of Mosul), where the entrance to Mosul coming from Erbil (the capital of Kurdistan Region) stretch barriers on a dirt road outside Mosul city.

Unlike barriers, in recent days, armed groups called "al-Usra Army " spread within Mosul city and these groups are close to the organization's leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and their presence in a place is evidence of the existence of al-Baghdadi, according to one of the city's residents called himself " Medhat al-Mualem " for fear on his life.

Mualem explained that "the militants of al-Usra army are heavily armed and dressed in black, and most of them are foreign fighters," he said, "When we see these forces patrolling the streets of Mosul, we know very well that al-Baghdadi is in Mosul."

He added that "the force does not stand in place or intersection but cars scouring , pass and come back quickly."

Population do shopping to buy food to be stored; in anticipation of war may be prolonged, Saad Al-Atraqchi carrying a black bag and examines in a wooden cart for legumes to buy them, said: "We do not know what the time hide, but we are afraid to run out of supplies, and we are in the midst of battle."

Atraqchi spoke softly like a whispered fearing the wrath of ISIS: "Despite the fear of war, but we as residents are happy; because the war will save us from ISIS which destroyed the land of Mosul."

For his part, Brigadier General Ghanim al-Sabawi, one of Nineveh police officers that is being reformed to liberate Mosul in Nineveh camp in Dobrdan east of Mosul said, "ISIS is seeking for some time to develop weapons through some chemical gases seized from Reqqa Syrian and Mosul city as well as gases in scientific laboratories that we believe was able to grab ."

Sabawi added that "ISIS also works on plating truck bombs in order not to affect the shells (so as not to blow them up before they reach the goal) if the ground troops tried to break into Mosul," noting that "the Iraqi forces and the Peshmerga captured some of these armored vehicles, The organization is creative in making arms since the period of preparation for this fight. "

ISIS elements are moving between the period and the other from one place to another because of the intensification of the bombing on them and make churches as headquarters and warehouses to store weapons and explosives as the organization believes that churches are not targeted by coalition aircraft, according to the population of Mosul, who started to prepare to the Battle of Mosul, as Mosul is in anticipation with the announcement of near Mosul battle, while welcoming to get rid of their suffering from ISIS.

In the eighth of February, John Allen, coordinator of the international coalition against ”ISIS “ and the US President's advisor, announced that the attack on the ground will start against "ISIS" soon.

In remarks from Petra News Agency, the official Allen said that "an attack on the ground will start soon against the terrorist gang ISIS -led Iraqi forces with support from the coalition countries."

Allen pointed out that "coalition forces are equipping 12 Iraqi Brigades in preparation for a ground campaign against ISIS," noting that he will travel to East Asian countries to expand the international coalition, "which includes today 62 countries."

The US official denied that there is a change in the coalition strategy, saying, "Our strategy is clear, based on ISIS defeat."

In June, ISIS has dominated large areas in the north and west of Iraq before including them to lands seized by ISIS in northern and eastern Syria, under the banner of "Caliphate State" which were promulgated in the same month.

While the Kurdish Peshmerga forces are fighting alongside Iraqi forces , militias and tribes supported from the air by an international coalition led by the United States against ISIS in order to stop the expansion of the organization and restore areas that it has dominated during the past months.