In Mosul’s Old City, Iraqi soldiers on foot fight last pocket of Islamic State
Peering through a lookout hole at the Mosul frontline on Tuesday, Iraqi soldiers clad in black uniforms surveyed the last remaining patch of land controlled by Islamic State in the city's historic center. Getting this deep into Mosul's Old City means soldiers from the Counter Terrorism Service (CTS) must dismount from their armored Humvees and […]Stephen Kalin writes for Reuters:
Peering through a lookout hole at the Mosul frontline on Tuesday, Iraqi soldiers clad in black uniforms surveyed the last remaining patch of land controlled by Islamic State in the city's historic center.
Getting this deep into Mosul's Old City means soldiers from the Counter Terrorism Service (CTS) must dismount from their armored Humvees and walk for 10 minutes down a maze of narrow alleyways which at some points are barely wider than a man.
Construction is so dense here that vehicles cannot pass and air strikes would likely cause too much collateral damage. The battle to retake Islamic State's de facto capital in Iraq has come down to a band of soldiers with assault rifles maneuvering on foot through the dusty heart of the city.
