The rise of “Syrian Hezbollah” is by now a well-established aspect of the conflict, as multiple Syrian militias have arisen that have a clear and direct affiliation with Lebanon’s Hezbollah, such as Quwat al-Ridha based in the Homs area. Other militias, such as Liwa al-Imam Zain al-Abidin, whose secretary general was recently killed in fighting in Deir az-Zor against the Islamic State, do not openly assert links with Hezbollah but at least reflect “Syrian Hezbollah” as a brand, like reported by meforum.org.

Much more obscure, however, are Syrian militias openly claiming a direct affiliation with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Liwa al-Mukhtar al-Thiqfi (“The Mukhtar Thiqfi Brigade”) is one such group. The name al-Mukhtar al-Thiqfi is derived from a person by the same name, who led a revolt against the Umayyads in an attempt to avenge the death of Imam al-Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad killed at the Battle of Karbala. The name Fawj Qamr Bani Hashim (“The Moon of Banu Hashim Regiment”) featured on the militia’s emblem is just an alternative name for the group. One should compare with additional use of the names Kata’ib al-Imam Ali (“The Imam Ali Battalions”) and Fawj al-Nabi al-Akram (“The Most Noble Prophet Regiment”) by the Syrian Hezbollah group Liwa al-Imam al-Mahdi. The “Moon of Banu Hashim” refers to Abu al-Fadl al-Abbas, the son of Imam Ali, who was the first Shi’i Imam. Abu al-Fadl al-Abbas was also killed at the Battle of Karbala.

Besides the historical persona reference in Liwa al-Mukhtar al-Thiqfi’s name, it should be noted that the leader of the group goes by the name of al-Hajj Mukhtar. As Liwa al-Mukhtar al-Thiqfi’s brief self-profile states:

Liwa al-Mukhtar al-Thiqfi is a brigade affiliated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard [IRGC], under the leadership of al-Hajj Ali, who has the nickname of al-Hajj Mukhtar. The brigade is located in the Latakia area. The brigade’s task is assault: special assignments.

I spoke with al-Hajj Mukhtar regarding his group. According to al-Hajj Mukhtar (who, on a side note, mentioned that he is close to al-Hajj Waleed, who leads Liwa al-Imam al-Mahdi), Liwa al-Mukhtar al-Thiqfi was set up around a year ago. Asked about the reason behind the formation of the group when there are already multiple militias operating on the Latakia front, al-Hajj Mukhtar stated: “By God, a formation like any military formation working under the command of the Syrian Arab Army.” He himself is in fact not from Latakia but rather “another province” (which he did not name). He also confirmed the IRGC affiliation and origin of the group’s name: “The support of the Revolutionary Guard is necessary. The naming of Liwa al-Mukhtar al-Thiqfi means in a qualitative sense the fact that I am the leader of the brigade, and it emphasizes my admiration for the leader al-Mukhtar al-Thiqfi, the student of Imam Ali (peace be upon him) and the avenging hero for Imam al-Hussein (peace be upon him).”

In addition, al-Hajj Mukhtar stressed that the militia’s members are only Syrians, trying to highlight a supposed multi-sectarian composition: “Syrians from the Shi’i sect and the Sunni and Alawite sects. Iraqis are present but not in the brigade with us.” Of course, it is not entirely impossible that Liwa al-Mukhtar al-Thiqfi has members of other sects, who may adopt the group’s Shi’i slogans, banners and may even participate in some Shi’i traditions without formal affiliation/conversion.

Like many other militias trying to deal with manpower problems on the regime side caused by desertion and draft avoidance for service in the Syrian army, Liwa al-Mukhtar al-Thiqfi has offered taswiyat al-wad‘(“sorting out of affairs”) for some military personnel in a bid to recruit members. As al-Hajj Mukhtar explained: “Taswiya for military personnel only, meaning for misdemeanours, meaning the soldier delaying over his duty hours, and the soldier refraining from obligatory service: i.e. simple matters only.” The salary offered for members amounts to 57,000 Syrian pounds per month, which is equivalent to slightly more than $100 per month.

In total, al-Hajj Mukhtar claimed that there are approximately 4500 fighters in his formation, though such a number is likely an exaggeration. As far as “martyrs” go, he claims only 14 “martyrs” in number till now. At least one of these “martyrs” can be identified using publicly available information: Badi’ Muhammad Hasawi, said to have been from the Hama town of Morek by origin. He was announced to have been killed fighting on the Latakia countryside front at the end of November 2016.

Hasawi’s death provides some further insight into the composition of Liwa al-Mukhtar al-Thiqfi. It seems an entire contingent of the militia originally comes from Morek.

Overall, Liwa al-Mukhtar al-Thiqfi is a rather small formation, but the group is an interesting case of a Syrian militia presenting itself as directly affiliated with the IRGC, rather than simply “Hezbollah in Syria” or “Syrian Hezbollah.” It will be interesting to see if other militias along these lines emerge in the future.

Displaced civilians in liberated areas have become ISIS’ main target now that battles have intensified in the center of Mosul’s Old City. ISIS militants have resorted to shelling areas recaptured by Iraqi forces in western Mosul, hitting civilians fleeing the fighting, like reported by aawsat.com.

Heavy mortar fire killed at least one civilian and wounded dozens in Mosul Jadida and Rifak districts – areas that the militants had recently lost to Federal Police and Rapid Response brigades.

Chief of the Iraqi Federal Police Lieutenant General Raed Shaker Jawdat told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper that terrorists are shelling liberated, populated areas to distract the troops. He also confirmed that they have injured dozens.

According to Colonel Abdul Amir al-Muhammadawi, from the Iraqi Rapid Response Division, the civilians leaving their areas are being shelled and sniped by ISIS militants. He added that medical outposts have been deployed on the roads expected to be taken by civilians.

He explained to Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper that the medical stations provide first aid assistance to the wounded and elderly and then transfer them to the field hospital for treatment.

Citizen Haifaa al-Hamdani told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper that they used to hide under the stairs to avoid being shot. Haifa was in her house when they were shelled by ISIS terrorists causing her son’s injury. He was transferred to the hospital for treatment.

Areas under ISIS control are suffering from severe humanitarian situations with lack of food and supplies. Situations are getting worse now that reinforcements have been stopped and citizens who are still inside are afraid of leaving.

Another citizen, Shaaban Tarek, said that dozens have been killed and others injured with most of their homes destroyed during ISIS’ random shelling. He pointed out that the terrorist organization relies mostly on locally made bombs in its attacks.

Tarek told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper during a phone call that about ten children die each day due to hunger and lack of supplies. In addition, ISIS prevents civilians from entering the hospital because it is for its militants exclusively.

Describing how hard their living situations are, Tarek said they only get to eat once a day and mainly their meal consists of water and dry bread. He also reported that drinking water has been cut off in areas west of Mosul since over than two months and people are relying on wells for water supply.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) issued a statement on Wednesday saying that its teams in and around Mosul have received more than 1,800 patients in need of urgent or lifesaving care in the last two months.

The organization added that of the 1,800, – 1,500 – needed treatment for conflict-related trauma and the teams have since assisted 100 births and performed 80 caesareans.

Isabelle Defourny, MSF director of operations said that: “The need for emergency medical care has risen drastically. We have teams working around the clock treating men, women and children injured by bullets, blasts and shells. Other life-threatening emergencies also need a rapid medical response, such as for pregnant women in need of a caesarean.”

Defourny stressed that it is urgent that malnutrition treatment be provided to meet the needs, and that those displaced from western Mosul receive adequate food aid when they arrive.

The Syrian Democratic Forces launched a major ground offensive with the support of the U.S.-led coalition to capture the Tabqah dam in efforts to free Raqqa from Islamic State control, like reported by upi.com .

The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces and its Syrian Arab Coalition fighters are carrying out the latest offensive to further isolate Raqqa, the de facto capital of the Islamic State, also known as ISIL, Daesh and ISIS.

In the attack on Wednesday, U.S. helicopters transported about 500 militia allies and coalition military advisers across the Euphrates River and Lake Assad behind enemy lines so they could attack the Tabqah dam, also known as the Euphrates dam, and a neighboring town in the south where there is a nearby airfield.

The U.S. forces used Apache attack helicopters and Marine Corps artillery to support the militia forces.

“This is the first time we have conducted an air movement, air assault, with the Syrian Arab Coalition and Syrian Democratic Forces,” Col. Joseph Scrocca, a coalition public affairs officer, said during a call with reporters.

Scrocca said there are probably hundreds of IS foreign fighters in the area in which the militias were transported. The Islamic State is still in control of the area, Scrocca added.

“The SDF and our partners there are facing a pretty heavy fight — that’s what makes this type of operation so daring. I think we were lucky we caught ISIS by surprise. They are still reacting to this maneuver,” Scrocca said.

Scrocca said that while capturing the dam and nearby territory is “critical for the isolation of Raqqa and the next step toward an annihilation of ISIS in Syria,” the dam’s destruction “could lead to a severe humanitarian crisis.”

The offensive to capture Raqqa comes as Iraqi security forces are working through west Mosul to rid the city of the Islamic State.

“It is the SDF on the ground, putting their lives at risk, and violently engaging the enemy,” Scrocca said in a statement. “And it is the SDF, like the Iraqi security forces, who are making the sacrifice so that other Coalition nations do not continue to suffer the threat of ISIS terrorism inside our own borders.”

The U.S.-led coalition said capturing and controlling the Tabqah dam will isolate Raqqa from three sides and give the SDF the “strategic advantage needed for liberation of the city.”

 

The US-led international coalition against ISIS conducted on Tuesday night an airdrop of US forces and local allied fighters near the city of Tabqa in the northern province of Raqqa, opening a new front in the operation aimed at recapturing the stronghold of ISIS in Syria, like reported by aawsat.com.

The US Department of Defense said the international coalition supported the offensive with air movement and logistical support, precision airstrikes, close-air support by Apache helicopters, Marine Corps artillery and special operations advice and assistance to Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) leadership.

Sources following up developments in the region said the US airdrop came to support Arab members of the SDF, which includes a majority of Kurdish fighters backed by Washington.

The sources added that one of the targets of the operation is to tighten the noose on ISIS in the two cities of Raqqa and Tabqa, and prevent regime forces from launching an attack from Deir Hafar town, in the eastern suburbs of Aleppo, towards the Tabqa airport.

“This new development will draw new borderlines to the sphere of influence in the region,” Director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Rami Abdel Rahman told Asharq Al-Awsat.

He said the presence of US forces and their allies in the area would prevent regime forces from advancing in the direction of the southern suburbs of Raqqa city.

“It will also prevent regime forces from controlling the Taqba military airport,” Abdel Rahman said.

SDF sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that members from the Kurdish internal security force, Asayesh, also took part in the airdrop, adding it was the second joint landing operation between US forces and the Kurds.

At the battlefront, fighting in Damascus was still heated on Wednesday.

The Syrian opposition Sham Network news agency said: “Despite their counter-attack, Assad forces and his militias failed to register any advancement, only adding to their previous losses at the level of military equipment and soldiers.”

Regime forces called for military reinforcements to the area.

Meanwhile, the fifth round of indirect peace talks kicks off in Geneva on Thursday between regime representatives and the opposition.

However, hopes to produce any progress remains limited.

As the war in Yemen enters its third year and fighting intensifies along its western coastline, the conflict is increasingly spilling over into both sides of the Bab Al Mandeb strait, threatening traffic through one of the world’s most strategic maritime choke points and impeding delivery of desperately needed aid, like reported by thenational.ae .

The Saudi-led coalition and local forces are fighting to take key ports along the Red Sea coast, but since the end of last year, the rebels have been using increasingly sophisticated weapons and tactics that analysts say are partly the result of Iranian training and equipment specifically for use against naval and maritime targets, including anti-ship cruise missiles, sea mines, speedboat attacks and even a drone boat loaded with explosives.

“There hasn’t been those kind of attacks, at these levels, anywhere in the world in years,” said Commander Jeremy Vaughan, a US naval officer who is currently a fellow at the Washington Institute and whose views do not reflect the official policy or position of the US military or government.

The new maritime dimension to the war has threatened to internationalise the conflict to an even greater degree, and the US administration is currently reviewing its support to the coalition, possibly with increased assistance or even direct military action against the Iran-backed Houthis and their allies.

After a cruise missile hit a UAE vessel last October, followed by US air strikes in retaliation for the targeting of two US warships, a Saudi frigate was hit by an unmanned speed boat, killing two sailors. Two more drone boats were reportedly disabled or turned back by gunfire from the ship.

The US dispatched a destroyer to the strait in February, and reportedly may send at least two more warships to patrol the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

“We’re certainly concerned about it and we’re doing prudent planning, not just ourselves but with our allies and partners in the region,” Vice Admiral Kevin Donegan, the commander of the Bahrain-based US Fifth Fleet, which also provides security in the Bab Al Mandeb, told Defense News last month. “We’re really concerned now more than before because of this spillage into the maritime,” he said, regarding the Houthi threat.

Earlier this month, the US Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) warned commercial shipping companies that it believes Houthi forces have also laid floating mines around the port of Mokha, which Yemeni forces backed by the coalition captured in January but where intense fighting has since restarted. Two Yemeni coastguard members were recently killed when their patrol boat hit one of the mines near the strait. Hundreds of thousands of vessels pass through the Bab Al Mandeb strait each year – more than over 80,000 in one month alone last year. The US Energy Information Administration estimated that 4.7 million barrels of oil were transported through the strait daily in 2014, mostly headed to markets in Europe.

The new threats emanating from the conflict in Yemen are already driving up security and insurance costs for shipping companies. Lawlessness on the coast means greater risk not only from mines and missiles, but also from militants, criminal gangs and pirates taking advantage of the chaos.

In its latest weekly incident report, the ONI said armed men in skiffs approached commercial ships on March 7 and March 9, but were scared off by on-board security.

But on March 13, Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden captured a UAE-managed oil tanker in the first successful pirate attack since 2012. After a four-day ordeal, the crewmen were rescued by the Puntland Maritime Police Force.

An attack last October on a gas tanker in the strait was probably the work of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (Aqap), security specialists told Reuters, though no group has claimed responsibility and Aqap is not known to have a presence there.

Even with a beefed-up international naval presence, maritime security experts say that the threat posed by the rebels and other violent outlawed elements will not be snuffed out easily.

“Geography is the biggest challenge. The size of the Yemeni coastline and volume of water to be patrolled by a relatively small Saudi, Emirati, Yemeni naval [and coast guard] force makes security very difficult,” said Cmdr Vaughan. “Secondly, the probable use of mobile launch systems make coastal defence systems hard to find and hard to eliminate.”

James Pothecary, a political risk analyst with Allan & Associates, wrote on the Centre for International Maritime Security website: “The economic and security risks to shipping companies are compounded by the difficulty naval forces will have in neutralising the threat in the Bab Al Mandeb.”

Managing two usually orderly lanes of shipping passing each way through the 25km-wide choke point is one thing; keeping track of large numbers of small boats carrying contraband and other goods between the Horn of Africa and Yemen is quite another, even without the security vacuum in the coastal regions.

“The use of speedboats, which are quick, difficult to detect and hard to interdict, presents challenges to even major naval powers operating in the region,” Mr Pothecary wrote last November.

Cmdr Vaughan said the “significant” maritime traffic passing through the Red Sea and Bab Al Mandeb “complicates efforts to find bad actors”.

“It is possible for ships to withhold their position and smaller vessels – the ones that could pose a problem – often do not have the necessary equipment installed or operating,” he said. “Small boat traffic is significant, fishing is important throughout the region, as is legal coastal shipping and illegal smuggling.”

Rebels in coastal areas are also highly mobile and can fire rockets and missiles, or launch drone boats, and retreat into ungoverned territory before naval or other military forces are able to organise a response.

“It is unlikely a military solution will be sufficient in itself to quickly neutralise the attackers and restore security,” Mr Pothecary said.

Coalition forces continue to press on toward the ultimate goal of capturing Hodeidah port, the major port for food and fuel coming into rebel-held Yemen, where most Yemenis live. The coalition is also convinced the rebels get their weapons shipments from Iran through Hodeidah.

The maritime spillover has forced aid organisations away from Hodeidah. With 60 per cent of Yemenis – or 17 million people in the country – on the brink of starvation, this could prove the tipping point in the humanitarian crisis. The International Red Cross is among the aid agencies no longer using the port.

“Nobody from our list of suppliers wants to go to Hodeidah,” said Robert Mardini, the ICRC’s regional director for the Near and Middle East. “This is problematic.”

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson declared Wednesday that Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s death is imminent, as US-backed forces close in on the jihadists in Syria and Iraq, like reported by iafrica.com.

“Nearly all of Abu Bakr Baghdadi’s deputies are now dead, including the mastermind behind the attacks in Brussels, Paris and elsewhere,” Tillerson told a coalition meeting in Washington.

“It is only a matter of time before Baghdadi himself meets this same fate,” he promised, as he opened discussions between the 69 members of the US-led military coalition and their Iraqi ally.

Earlier this month, a US defense official told reporters that Baghdadi, the elusive leader of the Islamic State group’s so-called “caliphate” had fled the Iraqi city of Mosul.

The northern city has been encircled and partially liberated by US-backed Iraqi forces, amid intense street battles, and officials now think the IS chief is cut off from command.

Now, the US-led coalition hopes to finalize the reconquest of northern Iraq and to turn the screw on the last IS bastion in Syria, its nominal capital in the city of Raqa.

“The great commonality among we who have gathered today is a commitment to bringing down a global force of evil and I emphasize the word commitment,” Tillerson said.

“The success of our mission depends on a continued devotion to our stated objective of defeating this terrorist organization.”

 

Russia’s force in Syria has suffered losses since late January more than three times higher than the official toll, according to evidence gathered by Reuters, a tally that shows the fight in Syria is tougher and more costly than the Kremlin has disclosed, like reported newsweek.com .

Eighteen Russian citizens fighting alongside Moscow’s allies, the Syrian government forces, have been killed since January 29—a period that coincided with intense fighting to recapture the city of Palmyra from the Islamic State militant group (ISIS).

The Russian defense ministry has publicly reported only five servicemen’s deaths in Syria over the same period, and its officials’ statements have not mentioned any large-scale Russian ground operations in the fight for Palmyra.

Military casualties abroad are not as politically sensitive in Russia as in some other countries but send a negative message ahead of a presidential election next year that is expected to give President Vladimir Putin a fourth term.

The toll was revealed in interviews with relatives and friends of the dead men, cemetery workers, local media reports of funerals and evidence collected by a group of investigative bloggers, Conflict Intelligence Team (CIT).

In each case, Reuters has independently verified information about the death by speaking to someone who knows the dead man.

The casualties since the end of January represent one of the highest tolls for the Russian contingent in Syria since the start of Moscow’s military intervention 18 months ago.

An official with the Russian foreign ministry refered questions about them to the defense ministry. The Russian defense ministry did not respond to Reuters questions about the casualties and about military operations in Syria. The Kremlin did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Most of the dead were not regular Russian soldiers but Russian civilians working as private military contractors under the orders of Russian commanders. Moscow has not officially acknowledged the presence of the contractors in Syria.

One of the 18 men killed was Yuri Sokalsky, a 52-year-old from the Russian Black Sea resort of Gelendzhik who, according to a person close to him, signed up to go to Syria in January with a group of private contractors.

In one of his last phone calls home, the person close to him said, he expressed surprise at the large numbers of Russian contractors being despatched to Syria, and relayed what he had been told about the intensity of the combat.

“Out of every 100 people, 50 are coming back in caskets,” the person recalled Sokalsky as saying. The person asked not to be identified, fearing repercussions for revealing information that is sensitive for the Russian authorities.

On March 14 last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a partial drawdown of Russian forces in Syria, saying their mission had “as a whole, been fulfilled.” The fight for Palmyra this year tells a different story.

The 18 fatalities documented by Reuters include the five regular soldiers whose deaths were announced by the defense ministry, four private military contractors in one unit killed on the same day, seven other such contractors, and two regular soldiers whose deaths the defense ministry has not announced.

The period examined by Reuters coincided with the start of a major Russian deployment to the area around Palmyra, according to several people close to the dead fighters.

Several relatives of people killed in Syria said they had received phone calls from people involved in recruiting private military contractors warning them not to speak to media.

Out of the 18 dead, at least 10 were killed in the region of Palmyra, which ISIS fighters seized in December for a second time in a year—a major reversal for Syrian government forces and their Russian backers.

On January 10, Sokalsky, a land mine specialist, left his home in Gelendzhik and set off for Rostov, in southern Russia, to join a group of private contractors being despatched to Syria.

On his one previous tour to Syria, only fighters over 35 were being hired, selected to carry out specialist technical roles or train Syrian units rather than for out-and-out combat.

“This time they were taking everyone,” said the person close to Sokalsky.

Two official documents seen by Reuters show that on January 31, Sokalsky died from shrapnel injuries in Tiyas, in Syria’s Homs province about 37 miles west of Palmyra. Three other members of his unit, all private military contractors, were killed the same day, according to relatives, friends and cemetery officials. They were Alexei Nainodin, Roman Rudenko, and a third man whose name Reuters was not able to establish.

Another private military contractor, Dmitry Markelov, was also killed at Tiyas, site of the Syrian military’s T4 air base, on January 29, according to people close to him.

Four regular Russian servicemen were killed in the same area on February 16, Russian state media cited a defense ministry statement as saying. The soldiers, described by state media as “advisors” to the Syrian military, were not named. A fifth regular serviceman, Artyom Gorbunov, was killed near Palmyra on March 2, state media quoted the ministry as saying.

A further eight members of the Russian contingent were killed since the end of January at unknown locations in Syria, the evidence gathered by Reuters showed.

They were contractors Konstantin Zadorozhny, Ivan Slyshkin, Vasily Yurlin, Alexander Sagaydak, Alexander Zangiyev and Alexander Tychinin, and regular Russian soldiers Igor Vorona, and Sergei Travin.

Local media reports and social media posts point to more Russian deaths in Syria since the end of January than the 18 casualties, but Reuters has not been able to verify that information independently.

Radios crackle, alerting the Iraqi forces advancing through the first of Mosul’s labyrinthine souks that drones circulating overhead have spotted an Islamic State car bomb moving towards the frontline, like reported by middleeasteye.net.

The incoming vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) is of terrifying proportions: an armour-plated industrial bulldozer on tracks. Its shovel is fixed low to push through Iraqi army frontline defences of high sand berms and armoured vehicles.

Reinforcement soldiers, who have been resting in abandoned shops, their shutters torn open by fighting, leap to their feet, wrapping lengths of machine-gun ammunition around their shoulders and loading rocket-propelled-grenade (RPG) launchers.

Bulldozer grinds toward Iraqi forces

Soldiers from Iraq’s Rapid Response Division (ERD), supported by Federal Police units, have been fighting from their latest strategic gain – Mosul’s riverside indoor souk – since dawn. Gradually the forces have fanned out through a network of narrow roads leading into the adjacent old souk.

But these reinforcement units – one of ERD’s secret weapons – have been resting in preparation for unexpected IS resistance or counter-attacks.

A voice from the radio updates soldiers that the bulldozer VBIED is stuck, trying to plough its way through a high sand berm near the souk.

On the Corniche, forces gather alongside military vehicles. A young soldier loads a rocket into an RPG-29, a freestanding, larger-calibre version of the shoulder-held weapon.

Troops standing nearby plug fingers into their ears as he fires it down the battered remains of Mosul’s Corniche, which once bustled with shoppers and tourists.

An Abrams tank trundles forward from somewhere near the Ashur Hotel. A few hundred metres behind the frontline, the government-owned former five-star luxury hotel has been so battered by air strikes falling nearby that it now resembles a building under construction.

The tank struggles to pass through a narrow strip of tarmac between a huge crater left by an air strike and several armoured personal carriers. After some manoeuvring, it rolls into position and starts belting out heavy fire.

All weapons are now firing towards the bulldozer. Several bullets aimed too low turn into friendly fire, bouncing off the Iraqi army’s own bulldozer, which has been reinforcing one of the sand berms.

“It’s coming, it’s coming,” shouts an ERD commander urgently.

Despite being pounded by heavy weapons, the IS bulldozer has ploughed through the first sand berm and is now grinding forward towards the forces. Through the deafening gunfire, the single boom of a direct hit from a Kornet – an expensive Russian anti-tank guided missile that Iraqi operatives have become adept at using to target IS car bombs – can be heard.

The bulldozer is finally stopped in its tracks.

After confrontation, rest

This is the second bulldozer VBIED that Iraqi forces have faced in the last week as they advance deeper into Mosul towards the Old City, which now lies just a few hundred metres in front of them.

“We stopped this one by killing the driver, and were then able to deactivate the IEDs it was loaded with,” ERD Captain Ferras tells MEE.

He gestures to the bulldozer, rendered almost unrecognisable by bullet-proof metal sheets and a network of grills designed to deflect incoming fire.

“If it had detonated, it would have created a huge explosion.”

The sinister-looking vehicle now stands between Iraqi army mortar and Improvised Rocket-Assisted Munition (IRAM) positions.

At the entrance to the dusty indoor souk, an ERD commander pauses to tell soldiers the IS bulldozer has been stopped. The news is greeted with silence and a few nods. Relentless machine-gun fire, both incoming and outgoing, ricochets outside the indoor souk. Cheerful melodies from soldiers’ mobile phones ring out incongruously.

Someone reminisces about his youth spent in Mosul.

“There was a huge casino right there beside the river, with all these expensive restaurants and cafes,” he says, gesturing towards the Corniche.

“So many westerners used to stay in the Ashur Hotel and we would watch them walking around, so blonde and fair and tall. It was like something from the movies.”

Most of the men chain-smoke in grim silence. One young federal policeman sings a little song under his breath, tapping out an accompanying rhythm with his ornate ring on the head of an RPG.

Air alive with missiles and gunfire

An ERD captain shouts into the souk that several more potential incoming VBIEDs have been spotted, before leaping into a Humvee and veering past troops towards the frontline.

His is one of two vehicles that are driving into IS sniper-fire to reach a small group of ERD soldiers who radioed back for support. They advanced deep into the Old Souk but have become trapped inside a building by several hidden IS snipers who unexpectedly became active.

There is confusion about the trajectories of the newly spotted VBIEDs and IS have started attacking the riverside frontline with a series of mortars and RPGs. They clearly have no shortage of munitions.

Suddenly neither side of the covered indoor souk, which has acted as a haven for much of the day, seems safe. On the city side, the last remaining ERD soldiers dash up steps and out into the Old Souk, stepping over the bodies of several IS fighters felled during the morning’s battle.

On the Corniche, soldiers surge forward into battle, leaving a handful of Federal Police waiting under the awning of the souk.

The air is alive with missiles and gunfire. IS mortars rain down around the indoor souk, rattling the battered shutters. All the glass has already been shattered but remnants tinkle down into the debris-strewn corridors. A poorly aimed IS mortar round lands in the middle of the River Tigris, sending an extraordinary waterspout of clear water high into the air.

Intense sniper-fire whizzes down narrow streets

It’s clear that the IS bulldozer was the opening gambit of what has now become a fierce counter-attack as a barrage of RPGs starts pounding the frontline. The Iraqi military have faced unexpectedly modest resistance along the Corniche, advancing after coalition and Iraqi warplanes laid waste to riverside buildings occupied by IS. But the solid grouping of armoured vehicles which moved into frontline positions has suddenly become vulnerable.

“Ali, Ali. Turn your vehicle around,” yells a commander to one of the Humvees at the front, near the sand berm. The driver cannot hear above the gunfire. When he eventually does, he reverses into another vehicle.

An IS RPG hits a Humvee’s engine with a huge explosion. It bursts into flames. A soldier runs over to yank open the heavy doors, pulling out its occupants who, reeling with dizziness from the impact of the hit, manage to stagger towards the relative safety of the indoor souk. Smoke pours from the engine. The commander yells for someone to put out the fire but no one dares move towards it and into what has become a dangerous line of fire.

A random RPG hurtles into the chaos of the frontline from the opposite riverbank, from east Mosul, which was liberated almost two months ago, but where Iraq counter-terrorism forces still regularly arrest IS sleeper-cells. It does not explode. More RPGs fired from IS positions inside and along the edges of the Old Souk land around the frontline.

As the Humvee’s body catches fire, the piles of machine-gun ammunition inside start exploding. A flying bullet hits a soldier in the face. He staggers away from the billowing cloud of black smoke with blood pouring from his face.

In the chaotic wake of the explosion, intense IS sniper-fire starts whizzing down one formerly quiet narrow street of the Old Souk, from the direction of a mosque’s minaret. The IS sniper, it seems, had been biding his time. And this is a road all the soldiers must cross to get back to the indoor souk.

The beginning of the battle

Today’s fierce IS counter-attack causes only modest losses – one Humvee and a handful of minor injuries – but it temporarily halts the progress of advancing ground forces.

With soldiers having gained some 400 metres of hard-won new territory, the advance has already been a success.

This is the beginning of the much-anticipated battle for the Old City of west Mosul, where its narrow, winding streets will restrict the use of armoured vehicles and most advances will be made on foot.

As rain-clouds roll in over the River Tigris, troops start reinforcing their frontline positions in preparation for the night ahead.