Commander of Coalition Ground Forces in Iraq: ISIS Leaders Are Fleeing Mosul

The commander of the U.S.-led coalition ground forces against the Islamic State in Iraq stated on Wednesday, October 20, that ISIS leaders are abandoning Mosul and fleeing the city. In a video message from Baghdad, General Gary Volesky said, "We tell ISIS that your leaders are leaving you. We have identified a movement towards leaving the city of Mosul." According to the report, the coalition ground forces commander predicted that foreign fighters joining ISIS would gradually form a large group of ISIS militants in Mosul "because these individuals have nowhere else to go." The U.S. stated that it would not support the participation of the Shiite militia Hashd al-Shaabi in the operation. General Volesky also said that the U.S.-led coalition would only support those elements that are under the direct command and control of Iraqi security forces, and that the Shiite Hashd al-Shaabi forces are not part of this group. These statements come as Iranian-backed Shiite militias announced their intention to assist in operations in western Mosul, despite warnings from human rights groups about the risk of escalating sectarian tensions. The Popular Mobilization Forces (Hashd al-Shaabi), an alliance of Shiite militias trained by Iran, announced on Tuesday evening that they would assist government forces in advancing towards Tal Afar, located 55 kilometers west of Mosul. An unnamed senior Iraqi official told Reuters that "the Iranians and Hashd al-Shaabi intend to take Tal Afar due to its significance for Shiites and want to use it as a route to reach Mosul." This official added, "They also want to use Tal Afar to open a new angle towards the Syrian war." Hashd al-Shaabi, which has thousands of experienced fighters, is a powerful political ally of the Baghdad government, but due to sectarian sensitivities, Iraqi officials are trying to keep these Shiite groups away from the Sunni-dominated battlefront in Mosul. The capture of Tal Afar by Hashd al-Shaabi could obstruct the escape route for ISIS fighters from Mosul to Syria, but it could also instill fear among Sunni civilians in Mosul about using the Tal Afar route to flee to Syria. Before the fighting began, Tal Afar had a population of 150,000 to 200,000, comprising both Shiite and Sunni Turkmen, but the Shiites of this city have fled since ISIS captured it. Reports indicate that Iraqi army attacks on the third day of the Mosul battle have focused on retaking towns and villages in the Hamdaniyah area, which is located southeast of Mosul and referred to by news agencies as the "gateway" to Mosul. According to Al Jazeera, the Iraqi army attempted to gain control of this area on Tuesday, but the pressure from suicide attacks, snipers, and ISIS explosives has slowed the army's advance. An unnamed military official from the 9th Division of the Iraqi army told the Associated Press that his forces reached one kilometer from the city of Baghdida in the Hamdaniyah area on Wednesday. Meanwhile, according to Reuters, the coalition forces attacking ISIS had managed to retake 20 villages and three bridges in the outskirts of Mosul by Wednesday and killed at least 50 ISIS fighters; in the clashes, two Iraqi soldiers were also killed and 25 were wounded. The coalition involved in the Mosul operation consists of the Iraqi army and Kurdish Peshmerga forces, with U.S.-led coalition airstrikes supporting them. The Islamic State captured Mosul in the summer of 2014, but this group has lost many of its occupied areas over the past year, and Mosul is the last major city under its control in Iraq. President Barack Obama stated on Tuesday that the Mosul operation would be a "difficult battle," but he added that he believes ISIS "will be defeated in Mosul." The commander of U.S. ground operations in Iraq estimated the number of ISIS militants in Mosul to be between three to five thousand.