The Pentagon has confirmed that several U.S. soldiers have been wounded during the Mosul campaign. However, the government has not released the number of wounded nor how long ago they received their injuries. On Wednesday, U.S. troops were targeted in southern Mosul and returned fire on their attackers. The timing of this admission and that event suggests that some troops may have been wounded in yesterday’s operations.
Those U.S. forces may have traveling in the Albu Saif region, just south of the airport serving Mosul. The airport was captured on Thursday by U.S.-backed Iraqi forces; however, the airport is about 90 percent destroyed. Fighting also took place at the neighborhing Ghazlani army base and in Mamoun and Taz al-Rayyan.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi spoke of soon implementing a reconciliation plan that would assist displaced persons in returning home. However, local authorities throughout Iraq might resist some of the policies in that plan–such as evicting families of ISIS/Daesh members from their homes.
At least 83 were killed and 15 more were wounded in the latest violence:
A Katyusha rocket at the Mosul airport killed four special forces personnel and wounded three more. At least 30 militants were killed.
Two women were killed and five were wounded in a blast while trying to flee Dabs.
In Baghdad, a blast at a fish market in Khan killed one person and left four more wounded. A sticky bomb in Rustamiya wounded a civilian.
One person was killed and several were wounded by roadside bombs or mortars while fleeing Mamoun.
A sniper killed a Turkmen militiaman in Bashir.
Blasts at checkpoints near Khalis wounded two security personnel.
Twenty militants were killed in al-Allu.
In Albu Saif and Baida, 13 militants were killed.
Security forces killed three militants, including an emir, near Tal Afar. A commander was killed as well.
Six militants were killed in Sehaji.
In Jurf al-Nadaf, security forces killed a suicide bomber.
Many militants were killed in Khuynah and Toam.
