Mosul fight shaping up
The plan to envelop Mosul in the south required two prongs: Makhmour to the southeast and Qayyarah to the southwest. A small number of U.S. forces have conducted a brief site survey at the airbase, but they did not remain onsite.
The Iraqi security forces’ push to retake Qayyarah was Iraq’s largest armor maneuver since the Iraqi army invaded Kuwait, which officials say displayed a level of sophistication not yet seen in the war.
At the same time, two Peshmerga brigades equipped (and some even being paid for) by the U.S. are completing the encirclement from the north.
“Those two prongs are as important as the prongs coming from the south.” Carter said. During his last trip to Iraq, Carter announced the U.S. will provide $415 million in financial aid to Kurdish forces, through Baghdad, after the Kurdish economy took a hit with the worldwide drop in oil prices.
A senior defense official confirmed the U.S. has completed its initial goal of training 12 brigades for the Mosul fight, which commanders say is the number needed for the massive battle.
US looking to do more
But while that goal has been reached, U.S. official say additional training might be needed for those groups. For example, when the fight for Ramadi involved layer after layer of improvised explosive devices, U.S. forces gave counter-IED training to soldiers previously trained in other skills.
U.S. technical engineering support likely will be needed for bridging because Islamic State has blown up the bridges into Mosul, and police training might also be needed to help stabilize the city once Islamic State has been thrown out.
Carter said he will talk with Abadi about “a whole host of enablers” that have proven effective against the enemy, such as air support, equipment, supplies and help with logistics.
“We will provide more if and when the Iraqi Security Forces can make good use of them, and Prime Minister Abadi requests them,” Carter said.
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