Shirqat offensive (2016)

This article is about the 2016 offensive. For the previous offensive, see Mosul offensive (2015). For the battle for the city from 2016 to 2017, see Battle of Mosul (2016–2017). For other uses, see Battle of Mosul.

Shirqat offensive
Part of the War in Iraq and the American-led intervention in Iraq
Map of Mosul area
Map of the territorial control in Mosul, August 2016
Date24 March – 22 September 2016
(5 months, 4 weeks and 1 day)
Location
Al-Shirqat district, Iraq
35°48′01″N 43°17′23″E / 35.8003°N 43.2897°E / 35.8003; 43.2897
Result

Iraqi victory

Belligerents

 Iraq

List
  Islamic State (ISIL/ISIS)
Commanders and leaders

Haider al-Abadi (Prime Minister of Iraq)
Iraq Major Gen. Najim al-Jubouri (ISF commander of Nineveh Operations)
Iraq Brig. Ahmed Badr al-Luhaibi † (71st Brigade commander)[1]
Kurdistan Region Arshad Sanaa † (Peshmerga commander)[2]
CJTF–OIR:

Islamic State Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
(Leader)
Islamic State Abu Suleiman al-Naser † (Military Chief)[3]
Islamic State Abu Jannat † (ISIL Deputy Military Chief)[4]
Islamic State Basim Muhammad Ahmad Sultan al-Bajari † (ISIL Deputy War Minister)[5]
Islamic State Mohammad Ahmad Sha'yeb † (ISIL Governor of the Nineveh Province)[6]
Islamic State Jassim Salim al-Matyouti † (Replacement Nineveh Province Governor)[7]
Islamic State Abu Isaac † (Spokesman)[8]
Islamic State Thaher Mohammed Salman al-Sabawi † (Top commander in the Nineveh Province)[7]
Islamic State Salam Abd Shabib al-Jbouri † (Top ISIL commander in Mosul)[9]
Islamic State Hatim Talib al-Hamduni † (Military commander in Mosul)
Islamic State Imad Khalid Afar † (Senior ISIL adviser)[10]
Islamic State Wahid as-Sabaawi † (oil minister)[7]
Islamic State Abu Zaineb † (ISIL commander in Qayyarah)[11]
Islamic State Ahmed Ghanem al-Hadidi † (Chief of "Cubs of the Caliphate" in Mosul)[7]
Islamic State Abu Omar al-Assafi (POW) (Wali of Shirqat)[12]
Islamic State Abu Suleiman †[13]
Units involved

Iraq:

Military of ISIL

Strength

ISF: 20,000–25,000 soldiers[15]

Peshmerga: 10,000 soldiers[16]
NPU: 600 fighters[17]
US: 200 Marines (tactical support only)[18]
500 military advisors (since Sept.)[19]

Total: 12,000–20,000[20]

  • 7,000–15,000 militants in Mosul city[21][20]
  • At least 5,000 militants in the Mosul suburbs[22]
Casualties and losses
62 killed
254 wounded[23][24]
20 killed
150 wounded
United States 1 killed
France 2 wounded[25]
(ISIL claims 6,630+ overall casualties[26])		 1,300+ militants killed (by June 2016)[27][28]
99 deserters executed[29][30][31][32][33][34][35]
783+ civilians executed[36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46]
120,000+ civilians displaced[47]

The Shirqat offensive, codenamed Operation Conquest or Operation Fatah, was an offensive against the positions of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in and around the district of Al-Shirqat District to reach the city of Mosul.

The offensive was a joint effort by the Iraqi government forces with allied militias, local Assyrian Christian, Yezidi, Turcoman and Armenian militias, as well as Peshmerga and US and UK air support and limited ground forces. The aim of the operation, part of the military intervention against ISIL, was to set the conditions for an upcoming battle to push ISIL out of the second-largest city of Iraq, as well as the rest of the Nineveh Governorate.[48][49][50][51][52] The operation followed the Mosul offensive in 2015, which successfully recaptured parts of the region northwest of Mosul, but stopped short of breaching the city itself, for various reasons.

Early in the morning of 21 October 2016, on the fifth day of the Mosul offensive, dozens of ISIL fighters assaulted the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, 175 kilometers (110 mi) from Mosul. After entering the city, ISIL members split up into groups of three to five fighters and spread out to five areas in the city after infiltrating on foot, and the battle lasted into the evening. By 22 October 2016, four of the five areas had been secured, with ISIL fighters remaining alive in the Dumez district. The strategy by Islamic State seems to have only been partially effective, as although it diverted media attention from the Mosul offensive, none of the forces used to repel the ISIL fighters came from the Mosul offensive.[53][54][55]

  1. ^ "Iraq senior military commander killed in fighting IS". Pakistan observer. 16 June 2016.
  2. ^ "Peshmerga commander killed in ISIS dawn assault in northern Mosul". 28 September 2016.
  3. ^ "Military Skill and Terrorist Technique Fuel Success of ISIS". New York Times. 27 August 2014. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
  4. ^ "ISIS Top Commander, Deputy Military Chief Killed in Iraq's Mosul City".
  5. ^ "VID: Daesh Deputy War Minister & Top Military Commander Killed in Mosul".
  6. ^ "Iraqi Forces kill ISIS Governor in Nineveh Province". 29 March 2016.
  7. ^ a b c d "Top ISIS officials killed in fresh strikes in Mosul – ARA News". ARA News. Archived from the original on 5 May 2016. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  8. ^ "ISIS spokesman in Mosul killed by unidentified gunmen". Iraqi News. 14 September 2016.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference US and Peshmerga raid Mosul was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference senior ISIL adviser killed was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ "ISIS military commander of Qayyarah killed south of Mosul". Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference ShirqatWali was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ "ISIS Top Military Commander Killed in Iraq's Mosul City Airstrike". 4 October 2016.
  14. ^ "Iraqi Army makes final preparations for massive offensive". 10 September 2016. Archived from the original on 6 November 2018. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  15. ^ "U.S. sees Iraqi offensive to retake Mosul in April–May time frame". Retrieved 29 March 2016.
  16. ^ "10000 Peshmerga forces to participate in Mosul operation". Archived from the original on 9 April 2016. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
  17. ^ "Christian Fighters Join Iraqi Forces to Push ISIS Out of Mosul". 10 February 2016. Archived from the original on 21 October 2016. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
  18. ^ "US combat troops in anti-IS Mosul offensive". Retrieved 29 March 2016.
  19. ^ "Battle for Mosul weeks away as 500 US 'advisers' jet in". 10 September 2016. Retrieved 18 September 2016.
  20. ^ a b "Forces push deeper into key IS-held northern town Samachar Today". Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  21. ^ "Pentagon: More troops needed to train Iraqis". WWLP.com. 21 January 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  22. ^ "Over 12,000 ISIS militants fighting for Mosul". Aranews. 27 June 2016. Archived from the original on 16 May 2017.
  23. ^ "The Latest: 5 Iraqi soldiers killed as Mosul battle rages on". Fox News. 4 November 2016. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  24. ^ "Army Generals Detail Central Role of 'Q-West' Base in Mosul". NBC News.
  25. ^ Islamic State drone kills two Kurdish fighters, wounds two French soldiers Reuters (12 October 2016)
  26. ^ https://archive.org/download/gdsqgzetgfgdws_mail_Wa3d [dead link‍]
  27. ^ Fatma Bülbül (25 June 2016). "Iraqi army has killed 1,300 militants in Mosul operation". Anadolu Agency. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
  28. ^ Fatma Bülbül (26 June 2016). "Iraqi Minister: 1,300 ISIL Militants Killed in Mosul Operations". Fars News Agency. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
  29. ^ Loaa Adel (10 May 2016). "ISIS buries 45 of its members "alive" in Nineveh". Iraq news. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  30. ^ Cite error: The named reference 2-day operation was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  31. ^ Loaa Adel (23 June 2016). "Mosul: Islamic State executes four of its own militants for escaping battlefront". ARA News. Archived from the original on 25 August 2016. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
  32. ^ Cite error: The named reference flamethrowers was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  33. ^ Cite error: The named reference QayyarahFlee was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  34. ^ Cite error: The named reference bulldozer was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  35. ^ Cite error: The named reference ShiraqtFlee was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  36. ^ "ISIS jihadis execute 18 civilians in Mosul on charges of spying". 8 April 2016. Archived from the original on 10 April 2016.
  37. ^ Cite error: The named reference college was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  38. ^ Cite error: The named reference refuse was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  39. ^ Cite error: The named reference spying was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  40. ^ Cite error: The named reference IBTimes was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  41. ^ Cite error: The named reference cooperation was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  42. ^ Cite error: The named reference collaboration was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  43. ^ Cite error: The named reference Cafe was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  44. ^ Cite error: The named reference Welding was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  45. ^ Cite error: The named reference burning was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  46. ^ Cite error: The named reference animalslaughter was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  47. ^ "IS conflict: UN warns of 'huge impact' of Mosul assault". BBC. 23 August 2016. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
  48. ^ "US, Peshmerga and Iraqi Army launch offensive". Retrieved 29 March 2016.
  49. ^ "Kurdish Peshmerga forces hit ISIS positions in Mosul". Archived from the original on 29 March 2016. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
  50. ^ "ISIL attacks Iraq base, four Turkish soldiers wounded". Retrieved 29 March 2016.
  51. ^ "MIDEAST – Turkey hits ISIL positions in northern Iraq after Turkish soldier killed". Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  52. ^ Cite error: The named reference guard was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  53. ^ "Mosul battle: IS launches Iraq counter-attack at Kirkuk". BBC News. 21 October 2016.
  54. ^ "Iraq: Deaths as explosions, gunfire rock Kirkuk".
  55. ^ "ISIS Fighters in Iraq Attack Kirkuk, Diverting Attention From Mosul". The New York Times. 21 October 2016.