Sunnis are the main target of Mosul operation: Ex-Iraqi colonel

A former officer of the Iraqi military said that the Daesh terrorist group was not the main target for initiating the operation for liberating Mosul, and that the ethnic cleansing of Sunni Muslims was the true intent.

Former colonel of Iraq military, Galip al-Salih, said the current advance of coalition forces led-by Iraqi military and backed by the Shi'ite militia group Hashdi Shaabi, was very far from the expectations, as only a couple of residential areas had been captured from Daesh so far.

“The Mosul operation that turned into a nightmare for the Iraqi military seems as though it will continue next year," he said, recalling the announcement of PM Haidar al-Abadi who had said his military will liberate Mosul within weeks.

After passing one month, the military had not shown any significant advance in Mosul.

“The forces joined in the operation are devoid of tactical skills and strategical supremacy. The sole aim is killing more Sunnis, but this is not enough for a victory," al-Salih said.

He stated that Iraqi forces and the Shi'ite militia, backed by U.S.-led international coalition airstrikes, had been trying to enter the city center from the eastern front, but only captured 6 out of 82 neighborhoods in the past month.

“Within current situation this war can continue more than six months. Because the target is not liberate Mosul from Daesh but to take revenge from Sunnis," he added.

The former military officer described the brutality of Shi'ite militias that can surpass the terror or Daesh.

“They killed an 11-year-old boy by crushing him under tanks with arms tied behind his back. The Shi'ite militias are whipping Sunni women for “not fighting against Daesh'. In some villages they killed all men and women, and children by random firing. They torture by dragging Sunni civil men by tying them behind the car," he said, adding the brutality was much more than that of the Daesh terror group.

“Civilians in Mosul are afraid of being captured by Shi'ite militias alive," according to al-Salih.

“The former colonel said at least 400 Iraqi troops had been killed by Daesh suicide attacks so far.

“Tens of soldiers and Shaabi members are being killed every day, as Daesh carried out a shocking suicide attack by using underground tunnels... A suicide bomb is the most effective weapon of the terror group," he said.

“Daesh can reach every corner of the city through their tunnels and Iraqi forces are desperate against this tactic despite air support from U.S.-led coalition," he noted.

Al-Salih said that Daesh terrorists had prepared themselves against this assault for several months.

“They had developed their strategy. They had built a concrete wall in the northern, southern and eastern fronts of the city," he informed.

“Local sources said that destroying these walls would be tough for Iraqi troops," he added.

The coalition forces have captured Gökçeli, Semah, Kerame, Intisar, Kudüs and Aden neighborhoods of eastern Mosul. The city has 82 of such neighborhoods, which troops should captured after a heavy urban fight.

Tanks and armored vehicles are useless in urban fighting.

Last week, one of the Iraqi commanders in the Mosul operation admitted that their soldiers had no training for urban fighting. “They can only fight with the support of tanks and armored vehicles. But after reaching the populated neighborhood in the city center, tanks and armored vehicles become useless," he added.

Colonel Mein Sadi, who is a team commanders of Iraqi forces fighting in Mosul, said they had faced more than 200 suicide attack after entering the city center.

“Daesh also has some heavy weapons in its hand," he added.

The three main ground forces of the operation are divided in the battle field and they are no longer advancing under a single command.

Peshmerga forces stopped their operation after capturing some villages in eastern Mosul, including Beshiqa town.

The Shaabi Shi'ite militia group seems to be more interested in the Turkmen populated city of Tal Afar than Mosul.

“If the operation continues with this scenario, Mosul could be a big disaster for Iraq and coalition forces," al Salih added.

The Daesh terror group captured the northern Iraqi Sunni populated Mosul in 2014, when the Iraqi forces loyal to the central Shi'ite government withdrew themselves from the city without using a single bullet against the terror group.

After two years of Daesh brutality, the Iraqi central government announced a joint operation, supported by U.S.-led airstrikes and Peshmerga forces, to liberate the city on October 17.