The conflict in Mosul is again, for the first time in four months, dominating western media headlines. On that occasion, the Iraqi government forces were launching their effort to dislodge ISIS from eastern Mosul. It was expected to be a relatively quick and straightforward military operation. By the end of the year, the whole of the city, both east and west of the Tigris, would be freed. In reality, the stalling of initial progress and bitter house-to-house fighting meant more than two months were needed to control just the city's east.
Two factors handicapped the offensive. ISIS forces were very well prepared to defend their territory, not least through around 5,000 operatives able to work through an extraordinary network of tunnels. And though the Iraqi troops numbered 60,000 or more (against ISIS's approximately 5,000), only the elite units known as the counter-terror service (CTS) or “golden division”, perhaps 10,000 strong, were capable of urban counterinsurgency against a determined enemy.
In the event, even that force suffered serious casualties over the two months. This, as Politico reports, could have long-term implications for Iraqi security:
