Baghdad shifts brigade to Mosul

BAGHDAD — Iraq has deployed a brigade to Daesh-dominated Mosul in the north, a move criticised by Shiite militias.

Mosul, a northern city that held 2 million people before it fell to Daesh two years ago, is Washington's main target in Iraq.   

US planners hope Mosul can be taken this year by a combination of Iraqi government forces and security forces from Iraq's Kurdish autonomous region.

But the Shiite-led Baghdad government veered from the plan two weeks ago with the announcement that its next offensive would be just west of Baghdad in Fallujah, a Sunni bastion where US troops faced the bloodiest battles of their own 2003-2011 occupation.

Iraqi army troops poured into a rural district of Fallujah a week ago, but halted at the outskirts of built-up areas, with Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi saying the assault would be slowed to protect civilians.

Shiite militia criticised Abadi's decision to slow the advance. They say Fallujah is a more urgent target than Mosul because of its proximity to the capital, where a campaign of suicide bombings has escalated in recent weeks.

Washington worries that the Iraqi army could become bogged down in Fallujah and a protracted battle there could worsen sectarian hostility, especially if the Shiite join the fight.
Abadi depends on powerful politicians linked to the militia for his ruling coalition. He has tried to remove some from senior government posts, but faces resistance in parliament.
The head of the largest militia, former government minister Hadi Amiri, criticised the army for moving a brigade to an area near Mosul while the battle for Fallujah was still under way, saying the decision was taken under US pressure.

“Unfortunately there is an absence of precise planning for the military operations," said Amiri, who leads the Badr Organisation. "I believe that sending a large number of armoured vehicles and assets to Makhmour, under the pretext of the Mosul battle, is a betrayal of the battle for Fallujah," he told Al Sumaria TV.
Iraqi army officers confirmed a brigade had arrived on Sunday night in Makhmour, a staging point for a future assault on Mosul. Troops would prepare for an offensive to take an airfield across the Tigris River, and bridges and boats had been brought to facilitate the crossing.
Iraqi armed forces spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Rasool told Reuters the mobilisation near Mosulwould not subtract from the campaign in Fallujah.
"The forces allocated to Fallujah are achieving victories and we have started moving towards the city centre".