Denmark announced on Friday that it will not extend military operations involving its fleet of F-16s in Iraq and Syria. Training and analysis team will remain on hand, however. On Monday, a report was released that revealed that Danish planes were involved in airstrikes that killed civilians.
Iraqi commanders are analyzing their current strategies in Mosul and questioning whether they should alter them to avoid a “war of attrition.”
Iraqi soldiers are covering up Islamic State graffiti in the newly won neighborhoods in Mosul. However, the use of Shi’ite slogans in the task is alarming many Sunni residents. Sabah al-Numan, spokesman for the U.S-trained Counter Terrorism Service suggested that the soldiers don’t have time to spray graffiti and, also, that the slogans aren’t meant to be sectarian.
Although Shi’ite militiamen have so far honored a promise not to enter the city of Tal Afar, who exactly will fight there remains unknown. The army unit assigned to the task, the 92nd Brigade, is composed mostly of former Shi’ite residents of Tal Afar.
The International Organization for Migration reports that 77,826 civilians have now fled Mosul.
Iraqi forces admitted to retreating in certain districts of Mosul on Friday. Cloud cover has enabled militants to strike without fear of airstrikes, but it is considered a minor setback. Some areas in the city have exchanged hands more than once. Attacks against Iraqi forces also took place in Qabr al-Abd and Qasr.
The United Nations announced it will cease reporting on military casualties after receiving criticism from security forces. The Iraqi military, which does not release casualty figures, said the U.N.’s numbers were exaggerated.
At least 91 people were killed and 70 were wounded in recent violence:
In Baghdad, seven people were killed and 15 more when a bomb exploded at a market. A bomb in the Furat district on Friday killed one person and wounded five more. Three people were wounded in a blast in Camp Sara.
Two car bombs in Kanaos killed two soldiers and wounded 29 more.
In Mosul, a possible suicide bomber killed 24 people; at least 18 more were wounded. Security forces killed 13 militants.
Clashes near Tal Afar, possibly in Tal Zalat, left 13 militiamen and 17 militants dead.
An airstrike left 13 militants dead in Qaim.
