On the Mosul Front, a Brutal Battle Against ISIS and Time
Clambering onto a rooftop with a small group of soldiers from Iraq’s counterterrorism service, we scanned the Islamic State’s stronghold in western Mosul as one of its armored car bombs maneuvered toward the front line. Within minutes, there was an enormous explosion — a shoot of red flame and a funnel of black smoke that […]Michael R. Gordon writes for The New York Times:
Clambering onto a rooftop with a small group of soldiers from Iraq’s counterterrorism service, we scanned the Islamic State’s stronghold in western Mosul as one of its armored car bombs maneuvered toward the front line.
Within minutes, there was an enormous explosion — a shoot of red flame and a funnel of black smoke that reached into the sky.
This time, at least, there were no friendly casualties. The Iraqi troops who were clawing their way forward in the streets below had piled enough debris ahead of them that the suicide driver was stopped short of his target. All over the city, you can see that kind of wreckage and ad hoc barriers, put up by both sides.
