Limited gains in first week of Iraq’s Mosul offensive

Washington Post ^ | 24 October 2016 | Susannah George and Joseph Krauss 

[Lorianne]

In the week since Iraq launched an operation to retake Mosul from the Islamic State group, its forces have pushed toward the city from the north, east and south, battling the militants in a belt of mostly uninhabited towns and villages.

In the heavily mined approaches to the city, they met with fierce resistance as IS unleashed suicide truck bombs, rockets and mortars. In other areas, the militants retreated, and in at least one village civilians rose up and overthrew them before the troops arrived.

IS meanwhile launched a massive assault on the city of Kirkuk, some 170 kilometers (100 miles) away, killing at least 80 people in two days of clashes in an apparent attempt to divert Iraqi forces.

[Lorianne]

The whole thing is going to be a "limited gain" from our perspective. More like a loss as we'll have to hold any territory and administer it till the end of time to keep any kind of peace.

Where are we going to get the manpower and the money to do that? And for what?

[JimSEA]

“Limited gains” means that ISIS is holding in the south and expanding in the north??