9 forces present on the Mosul battlefield - who are they?

(Baonghean.vn) - A series of Iraqi and international forces are involved in the battle to retake Mosul from the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) - who have occupied Iraq's second largest city since 2014.

A series of international and Iraqi forces are involved in the battle to retake Mosul from IS. Photo: AFP.

On the morning of October 17, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced that the campaign to retake Mosul had officially begun.

Here are the main forces operating on the Mosul battlefield, although not all played an important role in the battle inside the city.

The self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) group

Heavily armed jihadists have spent years preparing to defend Mosul, which IS seized before sweeping through cities in southern Iraq in 2014.

Iraqi forces have since retaken significant territory on the ground, and Mosul is the last city held by jihadists in the country.

Anti-terrorist force

The elite forces in Iraq have spearheaded most of the key battles against IS. However, the continued reliance on these troops over the past two years has reached alarming levels.

Army

The Iraqi army has begun to play a more decisive role in the campaign against jihadists since being reborn with US-led training after losing several divisions in an IS offensive in the north two years ago.

Police

Including special forces units, paramilitary federal police and local police. Many Iraqi police forces take on a more soldier-like role in the fight against IS.

US-led coalition

A US-led international coalition is conducting air strikes against IS in Iraq and Syria, while also providing training, weapons and equipment to anti-jihadist forces.

There are currently more than 7,500 coalition troops deployed in Iraq, more than half of them from the US.

Most serve in advisory or training roles, but special forces have also been deployed to fight militants on the ground, with coalition forces near Mosul also shelling IS.

Source: AFP. Graphic translation: Lam Manh.

Peshmerga

Security forces from Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region are nominally under the federal government but operate independently, fighting IS along a front in the north of the country.

Hashed al-Shaabi

The support group, established in 2014, includes paramilitary forces that vary in skill set and level of government control.

The main groups within Hashed al-Shaabi are Iran-backed Shiite militias, including Ketaeb Hezbollah, Asaib Ahl al-Haq and Badr.

Hashed plays a key role in stopping the advance of IS and retaking land from the jihadists, but its affiliated forces also abuse their power and run amok, arbitrarily executing and kidnapping, etc.

Iranian advisor

Iranian forces have provided advice and other support, such as funding, to many militias fighting IS in Iraq.

Qassem Soleimani, the commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards - the wing that conducts operations abroad - was frequently photographed in Iraq during the war.

Turkish Army

Deployed at a base near Mosul, from which it conducts artillery strikes against IS, Turkish troops are also present inside the autonomous Kurdish region inside Iraq.

The federal government has asked for the withdrawal of these forces, the Iraqi Prime Minister has pledged that Turkish forces will not participate in the operation to liberate Mosul, but Türkiye has refused to do so.

Phu Binh

(According to AFP)