Turkey's Mosul gambit

Turkey's Erdogan says Iraq cannot handle Mosul assault alone

Poppycock. Iraqi forces liberated Tikrit, Ramadi, and Fallujah without any Turkish assistance.


Baghdad bridles at Turkey's military presence, warns of 'regional war'

Baghdad considers Turkey's military presence in northern Iraq as an occupation.


Erdogan's Turkey maintained an "open border" policy regarding foreigners seeking to join ISIS. Erdogan's Turkey facilitated the sale of ISIS oil.

Turkish military forces are in northern Syria to remove the Kurdish people from the Turkey/Syria border area (the Kurdish Rojava cantons)

The Turkish military wants to participate in the liberation of Mosul because there are potentially large oil reserves in this region.

Sorta. I think one of the results of this conflict has been that Turkey is increasingly taking a Russian Near-Abroad approach to the Kurdish areas. In some areas (Iraq) local Kurdish groups welcome this. In others (Syria) not so much.

As for ISF going into Mosul - it could be a different fight than Fallujah. We'll see.

Iraq Launches Offensive to Retake Mosul From ISIS Occupiers

Click to expand...

Iraq Launches Offensive to Retake Mosul From ISIS Occupiers - NBC News

Well, this is going to be interesting, and no I am not sure that Daesh loses the city.

In addition, the fate of the thousands of Yazidi women whom ISIS fighters have taken as sex slaves and are believed to be holding in Mosul is one of the biggest unknowns.

Click to expand...

We dont know must I can guess, and it will not be pretty.

Note: is does not appear to me that Turkey was invited to the operation.

Shaping operations are complete and the drive to retake Mosul officially began yesterday.

ISIS has had the city for 2+ years and has set the defenses. They have ignited moats filled with oil around the city to obscure CAS. No doubt ISIS has also sabotaged airfield runways, blockaded roads and undoubtedly littered Mosul with mines and IEDs/VBEDs. The Kurdish Peshmerga are advancing in from Mosul's suburbs. Taking part in this fight to reclaim Mosul are the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF), Kurdish Peshmerga, and sectarian Shia militias (Popular Mobilization Forces/PMF). I think this battle will take months and the 1.5 million inhabitants of the city will pay a hefty price. Anonymous sources in Raqqa, Syria say several hundred ISIS fighters were able to leave Mosul before the city was surrounded. The PMF had been accused of sectarian violence after the fall of the Anbar Sunni cities (Tikrit/Ramadi/Fallajah).

Iraqi, Kurdish Forces Liberate Villages Outside Mosul


Pentagon Says Islamic State Using People As 'Shields' In Mosul Fighting


At the Mosul Front: Traps, Smoke Screens and Suicide Bombers - The New York Times

Preparing For The Worst: Aid Agencies Brace For Humanitarian Crisis In Mosul

In a diversionary attack, several dozen ISIS foot-soldiers attacked a power transfer station in Kirkuk. Kirkuk was liberated by Kurdish forces in 2014. Kurdish Peshmerga killed 8 of the ISIS attackers and captured the remainder.

The Worst Is Yet To Come in Mosul, US Leaders Say


ISIS’ resistance is stiffening as coalition fighters close in on the city....