BAGHDAD: Iraqi forces battling to retake the small town of Al-Ayadiya, where militants fleeing Tal Afar have entrenched themselves, said on Tuesday the fighting is “multiple times worse” than the battle for Mosul’s Old City.
Hundreds of battle-hardened fighters were positioned inside most houses and high buildings inside the town, making it difficult for government forces to make any progress, army officers told Reuters.
Iraqi government troops captured the town of Mosul from Daesh in July, but only after nine months of grinding urban warfare.
But one Iraqi officer, Col. Kareem Al-Lami, described breaching the militants’ first line of defense in Al-Ayadiya as like opening “the gates of hell.”
Iraqi forces have in recent days recaptured almost all of the northwestern city of Tal Afar, long a stronghold of Daesh. They have been waiting to take Al-Ayadiya, just 11 km northwest of the city, before declaring complete victory.
Tough resistance from the militants in Al-Ayadiya has forced the Iraqi forces to increase the number of airstrikes, as well as bring in reinforcements from the federal police to boost units from the army, air force, the elite US-trained Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) and some units from the Shiite Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF).
Up to 2,000 battle-hardened militants were believed to be defending Tal Afar against around 50,000 government troops last week.
Military intelligence indicated that many militants fled Tal Afar to mount a staunch defense in Al-Ayadiya. Many motorcycles carrying the Daesh insignia were seen abandoned at the side of the road outside Al-Ayadiya.
Though the exact numbers of militants on the ground in Al-Ayadiya were still unclear, Al-Lami, the Iraqi Army colonel, estimated they were in their “hundreds.”
“Daesh fighters in their hundreds are taking positions inside almost every single house in the town,” he said.
Sniper shots, mortars, heavy machine guns and anti-armored projectiles were fired from every single house, he added.
“We thought the battle for Mosul’s Old City was tough, but this one proved to be multiple times worse,” Al-Lami said. “We are facing tough fighters who have nothing to lose and are ready to die.”
Two army officers told Reuters that no significant advances had yet been made in Al-Ayadiya. They said they were waiting for artillery and airstrikes to undermine the militants’ power.
The extra federal police troops who were called in said late on Tuesday controlled 50 percent of the town, deploying snipers on the high buildings and intensifying shelling of the militants’ headquarters with rockets.
Tal Afar became the next target of the US-backed war on the terrorist group following the recapture of Mosul, where it had declared its “caliphate” over parts of Iraq and Syria in 2014.
‘Gates of hell’ — Tal Afar fighting worse than Mosul: Iraqi Army
‘Gates of hell’ — Tal Afar fighting worse than Mosul: Iraqi Army
UN peacekeepers say Israeli forces fired on them in southern Lebanon
- “Yesterday, peacekeepers in vehicles patrolling the Blue Line were fired upon by IDF soldiers in a Merkava tank,” UNIFIL said
- It said that both the peacekeepers and the Israeli tank were in Lebanese territory
BEIRUT: The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon said Wednesday that Israeli forces fired on its peacekeepers a day earlier in the country’s south, urging Israel’s army to “cease aggressive behavior.”
It is the latest such incident reported by the peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, where UNIFIL acts as a buffer between Israel and Lebanon and has been working with Lebanon’s army to support a year-old truce between Israel and militant group Hezbollah.
“Yesterday, peacekeepers in vehicles patrolling the Blue Line were fired upon by IDF (Israeli army) soldiers in a Merkava tank,” a UNIFIL statement said, referring to the de facto border.
“One ten-round burst of machine-gun fire was fired above the convoy, and four further ten-round bursts were fired nearby,” the statement said.
It said that both the peacekeepers and the Israeli tank were in Lebanese territory at the time of the incident and that the Israeli military had been informed of the location and timing of the peacekeeping patrol in advance.
“Peacekeepers asked the IDF to stop firing through UNIFIL’s liaison channels... Fortunately, no one was injured,” it said.
Last month UNIFIL said Israeli soldiers shot at its troops in the south, while Israel’s military said it mistook blue helmets for “suspects” and fired warning shots.
In October, UNIFIL said one of its members was wounded by an Israeli grenade dropped near a UN position in the country’s south, the third incident of its kind in just over a month.
“Attacks on or near peacekeepers are serious violations of (UN) Security Council Resolution 1701,” UNIFIL said on Wednesday, referring to the 2006 resolution that formed the basis of the November 2024 truce.
“We call on the IDF to cease aggressive behavior and attacks on or near peacekeepers working to rebuild stability along the Blue Line,” the peacekeepers said.
Israel carries out regular attacks on Lebanon despite the truce, usually saying it is targeting sites and operatives belonging to Hezbollah, which it accuses of rearming.
It has also kept troops in five south Lebanon areas it deems strategic.
On Saturday, a UN Security Council delegation visiting Lebanon urged all parties to uphold the ceasefire.
It emphasized that the “safety of peacekeepers must be respected and that they must never be targeted,” after gunmen on mopeds attacked UNIFIL personnel last week.
