The BBC has what appears to be a pretty good summary of the battle for Mosul so far:
Between 17 and 19 October, Iraqi army units moved towards Mosul from Qayyarah airbase, in the south, and the town of Kuwayr, in the south-east, and took back several villages. The Peshmerga also captured a string of villages near Khazer, to the east.
Then on Thursday, Kurdish fighters launched a large-scale operation east and north of the city, while Iraqi forces re-captured the town of Bartella, less than 15km (10 miles) east of Mosul.Government forces said on Friday they had regained control of a further two villages – al-Awaizat and Nanaha – south of Mosul, evacuating 65 displaced families and killing 15 IS militants.
Meanwhile, IS militants mounted a ferocious counter-attack in and around the city of Kirkuk, killing at least 19 people.
Lots of maps.
I have faith in our man Jabouri to screw this up.
Wondr how many C-5a loads of cash were and will be spent to ensure “Conqueror of Daesh, Liberator of Mosul” will be added to a discreet bronze plaque in a presidential library. On the bright side, sooner this gets wrapped up, the less reason we have to be in Syria.
Walt, we’re in Syria to fuck Russia in the ass and spread jihadi friendly chaos. Those reasons will never go away.