Slow progress in retaking Mosul and low casualties: mosul-battle
A couple of points that caught my attention:
- “Baghdad doesn’t release official casualty figures, but some medics estimate that it is at least in the low dozens.”
- “As of late October, US officials said ISIS had lost roughly 900 fighters.”
- From 17 October to 1 November, 2,400 precision bombs, artillery rounds, missiles, and rockets were launched into the Mosul area.
So, Iraqi casualties less than 60?…..I have some doubts about the claimed 900 ISIL fighters killed.
Now….tempted to count number of bombs, artillery rounds, etc. per ISIL fighter killed….but not sure this is a particularly meaningful metric.
Anyhow, Mosul is effectively isolated. The main roads have been cut. I gather there is a open area of desert to the west that is not occupied, but any significant movement in the open with our airplanes and drones overhead is probably not advisable. This is fundamentally a mop-up operation, and not surprisingly, it is going slow and with low casualties. We shall see if they take the city in 6 weeks or so.
I still wonder how many ISIL fighters they actually left behind in Mosul.