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Knocking on Mosul’s door

As battle for strategic Iraqi city gets under way, hundreds of thousands of residents face imminent displacement.

Bashiqa city is seen though a trench in the mountains. [Diego Ibarra Sanchez/MeMo/Al Jazeera]
Bashiqa city is seen though a trench in the mountains. [Diego Ibarra Sanchez/MeMo/Al Jazeera]
By 
Diego Ibarra Sanchez
17 Oct 2016

The battle for Mosul, which has been under the control of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) since June 2014, is key to the group’s ultimate defeat.

Iraqi forces, Kurdish Peshmerga fighters and their international allies have already cleared dozens of villages on the outskirts of Mosul. However, the fight against ISIL, also known as ISIS, has been complicated by territorial arguments between Iraqi and Kurdish forces, with the Kurds angling to assert control over certain disputed areas liberated from ISIL.

From the Bashiqa frontline, just 20km from Mosul, a mountain top offers a clear view of the city, from where hundreds of thousands of residents are expected to flee as the battle unfolds.

A unit of Iranian-Kurdish fighters hold their position in Bashiqa, where ISIL fighters have launched night-time assaults. Many of the fighters here are volunteers. [Diego Ibarra Sanchez/MeMo/Al Jazeera]
A unit of Iranian-Kurdish fighters hold their position in Bashiqa, where ISIL fighters have launched night-time assaults. Many of the fighters here are volunteers. [Diego Ibarra Sanchez/MeMo/Al Jazeera]
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Bashiqa city is seen though binoculars from the frontline. [Diego Ibarra Sanchez/MeMo/Al Jazeera]
Bashiqa city is seen though binoculars from the frontline. [Diego Ibarra Sanchez/MeMo/Al Jazeera]
The body of an ISIL fighter lies on the ground after the liberation of the Gwer area. Iraqi forces and Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, backed by US-led air strikes and local allies on the ground, have recently managed to retake much of the territory previously lost to ISIL. [Diego Ibarra Sanchez/ MeMo/Al Jazeera]
The body of an ISIL fighter lies on the ground after the liberation of the Gwer area. Iraqi forces and Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, backed by US-led air strikes and local allies on the ground, have recently managed to retake much of the territory previously lost to ISIL. [Diego Ibarra Sanchez/ MeMo/Al Jazeera]
A Kurdish fighter looks outside a destroyed classroom in the recently liberated area of Setyh in northern Iraq. The school was destroyed by an air strike. [Diego Ibarra Sanchez/MeMo/Al Jazeera]
A Kurdish fighter looks outside a destroyed classroom in the recently liberated area of Setyh in northern Iraq. The school was destroyed by an air strike. [Diego Ibarra Sanchez/MeMo/Al Jazeera]
A teddy bear lies amid rubble in the recently liberated Iraqi town of Haj Ali. Most of the houses and buildings in the area are abandoned, surrounded by a path of destruction. [Diego Ibarra Sanchez/MeMo/Al Jazeera]
A teddy bear lies amid rubble in the recently liberated Iraqi town of Haj Ali. Most of the houses and buildings in the area are abandoned, surrounded by a path of destruction. [Diego Ibarra Sanchez/MeMo/Al Jazeera]
Ali Hussein, a 15-year-old Sunni fighter, is among those battling to oust ISIL from Iraq. [Diego Ibarra Sanchez/ MeMo/Al Jazeera]
Ali Hussein, a 15-year-old Sunni fighter, is among those battling to oust ISIL from Iraq. [Diego Ibarra Sanchez/ MeMo/Al Jazeera]
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Sunni fighters prepare for the night ahead at the frontline in Haj Ali. [Diego Ibarra Sanchez/MeMo/Al Jazeera]
Sunni fighters prepare for the night ahead at the frontline in Haj Ali. [Diego Ibarra Sanchez/MeMo/Al Jazeera]
Peshmerga fighters burn ISIL uniforms found in a tunnel in the newly liberated Setyh area of northern Iraq. [Diego Ibarra Sanchez/MeMo/Al Jazeera]
Peshmerga fighters burn ISIL uniforms found in a tunnel in the newly liberated Setyh area of northern Iraq. [Diego Ibarra Sanchez/MeMo/Al Jazeera]
A Peshmerga fighter moves through an abandoned ISIL tunnel on the outskirts of the recently liberated town of Kanhash Kabir. ISIL has been using an underground tunnel network to avoid capture. [Diego Ibarra Sanchez/MeMo/Al Jazeera]
A Peshmerga fighter moves through an abandoned ISIL tunnel on the outskirts of the recently liberated town of Kanhash Kabir. ISIL has been using an underground tunnel network to avoid capture. [Diego Ibarra Sanchez/MeMo/Al Jazeera]
Peshmerga fighters are silhouetted in front of a burning ISIL tunnel near Setyh. [Diego Ibarra Sanchez/MeMo/Al Jazeera]
Peshmerga fighters are silhouetted in front of a burning ISIL tunnel near Setyh. [Diego Ibarra Sanchez/MeMo/Al Jazeera]
Refugees line up for aid in the Dibaga refugee camp, southwest of Erbil. More than three million people have been forced to flee their homes in Iraq since January 2014, according to the United Nations. [Diego Ibarra Sanchez/MeMo/Al Jazeera]
Refugees line up for aid in the Dibaga refugee camp, southwest of Erbil. More than three million people have been forced to flee their homes in Iraq since January 2014, according to the United Nations. [Diego Ibarra Sanchez/MeMo/Al Jazeera]
The Dibaga camp has become overcrowded, and will face further pressures amid the anticipated exodus of residents from Mosul. [Diego Ibarra Sanchez/MeMo/Al Jazeera]
The Dibaga camp has become overcrowded, and will face further pressures amid the anticipated exodus of residents from Mosul. [Diego Ibarra Sanchez/MeMo/Al Jazeera]
The main base of the strategic Bashiqa frontline is just 20km from Mosul. [Diego Ibarra Sanchez/MeMo/Al Jazeera]
The main base of the strategic Bashiqa frontline is just 20km from Mosul. [Diego Ibarra Sanchez/MeMo/Al Jazeera]
When it is quiet on the frontlines, Peshmerga fighters kill time by checking their mobile phones or watching TV. [Diego Ibarra Sanchez/MeMo/Al Jazeera]
When it is quiet on the frontlines, Peshmerga fighters kill time by checking their mobile phones or watching TV. [Diego Ibarra Sanchez/MeMo/Al Jazeera]

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