However, behind the victories on the battlefield is the fragile fate of Iraqi civilians. International aid organisations have warned of the risk of a major humanitarian crisis if Mosul people continue to be used as "human shields" by IS.
Backed by airstrikes from the US and its allies, Iraqi security forces have begun to liberate parts of the second largest city in the country. Recapturing Mosul is considered the largest military campaign since the US launched the Iraq war in 2003.
With the participation of about 50,000 Iraqi soldiers, Kurdish forces, and Sunni and Shiite militants, both Iraq and the US are expected to smash the last "stronghold" of IS in the Middle Eastern country.
The offensive backed by the US military has breached IS defensive lines in the south and southwest of the city, regaining more than a dozen villages and heading toward the inner city. The Iraqi forces have gained control of a state TV station headquartered in the city, the first important victory paving the way to liberate Mosul located 400km from the capital city of Baghdad to the north which fell into the hands of IS in June 2014.
According to US military authorities, military operations have killed nearly 1,000 IS gunmen out of 3,000-5,000 stationed at Mosul.
The military campaign in Mosul has shaken the last "stronghold" of IS in Iraq, but inevitably caused casualties and damage to civilians and property. The United Nations said there are about 21,000 people in the city of which more than 1.5 million have been forced to leave, as a result up to 1 million people could fall into homelessness.
Meanwhile, IS has used thousands of civilians in Iraq as "human shields". About 25,000 have been held hostage in lorries and minibuses moving towards Mosul from the town of Hammam al-Alil in the south; IS used them as "shields" to protect their positions in Mosul.
Iraqi officials acknowledge that IS jihadi militants had executed dozens of locals they arrested in villages where the group was forced to retreat due to the Iraqi army’s progress in Mosul. The majority of those killed were military veterans and police officers living in the south of Mosul under IS control.
Last October, many civilians in Mosul were among 1,792 people killed and 1,358 injured due to armed conflicts and violence across Iraq. Save the Children (STC) said that up to 600,000 children in Iraq are trapped in the northern city. Maurizio Crivellaro, STC Country Director in Iraq has called for urgent actions to rescue these children from the war zone.
After occupying vast territory in Iraq and Syria in 2014, IS has suffered losses in large Iraqi cities such as Fallujah and Ramadi. If the Mosul campaign is successful, the Iraqi government forces can regain 50% of areas captured by IS in its northern region.
Although the Iraqi army has made a solid step in Mosul, the road ahead is still bumpy. As an extremist organisation with significant potential and branches around the world, IS proves to be a difficult force to defeat.
IS top leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who is said to be hiding in Mosul, sent a message calling on IS militants not to surrender. Western military officials also said that IS is losing territory, financial source and gunmen as well as suffering losses on the battlefields, but the alliance against IS should maintain momentum to carry out offensives against the terrorist group, although the campaign will take more time.
The Mosul liberation campaign is expected to be a decisive blow to IS, but cannot immediately reverse the situation in the fight against the extremist organisation. Whether the war in Mosul can be solved by military actions for several more weeks or not, on the front against IS there is still complications. Meanwhile, the Mosul “picture” is tinged with tragedy as civilians have been erected as "human shields" by IS, amidst the increasing wave of refugees and the risk of humanitarian crisis.
