Advance on ISIS: The road to Mosul

It's been almost two years since Captain T saw his
family, when ISIS took over their village in Nineveh
province.
"Sometimes I am just a ten minute drive away from
them, but I can't see them," he says. "With the help
of God, I will get them free soon, very soon."
The captain, in his mid 30s, asked to go by his rank
and first initial out of fear for his family's safety. He
keeps his face covered in a black mask; if ISIS found
out he was with the army, his family would pay the
price.
Roadside bombing
The convoy of vehicles we're in bump along the dirt
road that cuts across agricultural fields, past
defensive berms that snake through farmland and
artillery positions leading to the Iraqi army's new
frontline with ISIS.
Captain T signals a halt and jumps out to check an
area where a roadside bomb went off that very
morning. A boot protrudes from the dirt, and a
helmet lies nearby. No one was killed in the
explosion, but several people were wounded.
"ISIS comes in the middle of the night and plants
bombs along the road," one of the officers explains.
In recent weeks the Iraqi army has managed to
recapture a handful of villages from ISIS in Nineveh
province, to the south of Mosul, in what is being
described as the first phase of the operation to
liberate Iraq's second largest city.
Mosul fell to ISIS after the Iraqi Army abandoned
their positions and fled in the summer of 2014.
Coalition support key
The Iraqi army's 15th Infantry Division is the first unit
to be back on the ground in Nineveh since then. The
unit's personnel are mostly drawn from the province
itself. They have been reorganized and retrained by
the coalition and are under new command.
The advance so far is being hailed a success, but the
gains are small and the troops' hold on the area is
tenuous.
The Iraqi army's resolve is regularly being put to the
test: Will they stand and fight or flee once again?
U.S. support is key to that question.
"I want to see more support from the Americans and
the coalition," says Major General Najim al-Jobori,
commander of Nineveh operations and a native of
Mosul. "My troops are precious to me and the more
support we have, the more of their blood we save."
"The most important thing is to see ongoing U.S.
backing with the airstrikes, advisers and logistical
support," he adds. "It is not an urgent thing for us
right now, [to see] American combat boots on the
ground. We can liberate our own lands."
Gunfire, artillery blasts
Further along the road, we arrive in the village of
Kharabardan, where ISIS militants managed to sneak
into a home on the outskirts overnight, in an attack
that included suicide bombers and dozens of
fighters.
In response, the Iraqi troops called in a coalition
airstrike that leveled the building and swung the
battle in their favor.
Buoyed by their success they take us to see the
bodies of ISIS fighters scattered on the hillside.
Bursts of gunfire and artillery explosions going off
nearby are a constant reminder that ISIS is always
probing for vulnerabilities and weaknesses.
"ISIS, especially now we are on the perimeter of what
is their so called caliphate, is using waves of suicide
bombers backed by fighters," says al-Jobori.
"For the moment we are focused on moving closer
to the Tigris River and waiting for the other fronts
where units are fighting to also push up towards
Mosul."
Subterranean hiding places
While we were there, Captain T called his family,
promising that the Iraqi army would not be much
longer in coming and telling them not to give up
hope.
But ISIS has had two years to fortify its defenses,
both in Mosul and here in the wider province, in
hopes of fending off any attempt to retake the
region.
The Iraqi forces offer us a sobering glimpse of what
their enemies have achieved, escorting us through a
small entrance carved into the hillside. It leads to a
complex underground labyrinth of passages that veer
off in multiple directions. Mattresses and blankets on
the floor offer clues to the cavern's role: sleepAdvance on ISIS: The road to Mosul