The battle for Gwer

"Islamic State group fighters attempting to retake a town in northern Iraqheld by Kurdish peshmerga forces have killed at least 30 Kurds, an Iraqi military spokesman said Sunday.

The battle for the town of Gwer demonstrates the Islamic State group's ability to still launch offensives in Iraq, despite a monthslong campaign of airstrikes by a U.S.-led coalition. And while an alliance of Iraqi troops, Kurdish fighters and Sunni and Shiitte militiamen have made some gains, their advance remains tenuous at best.

The fighting began Saturday as the extremists approached Gwer, just outside of the northern city of Mosul, which the Islamic State group controls, said Halgurd Hekmat, a spokesman for Iraqi Kurdish forces in Irbil. Hekmat said he had no information about casualties suffered by the Islamic State group.

Backed by U.S.-led airstrikes, Kurdish forces retook Gwer in August after the Islamic State group's offensive saw it seize a wide swath of Iraq. Kurdish fighters from Iraq also have deployed in small numbers to help Syrian Kurds battle the group's fighters in the Syrian border town of Kobani.

Gwer sits near Irbil, the Kurdish regional capital. Retaking it would allow Islamic State group fighters a new base to potentially launch assaults targeting the city."  abcnews.go.com

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So far as I can see from Google Earth, Gwer is on the western side of the Irbil metro area and about half way to Mosul.  Is that right?

The interesting thing in this is the continuing ability of IS forces to take ground and hold it in the face of heavily applied coalition air power.

There are increasing numbers of US trainers and adviser out in the field with Pesh Merga and Iraqi "Army" units.  There are some 300 out at al-Asad air base in western Anbar.  It is besieged by IS.

We are taking a big chance with these men's lives.  pl 

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/official-islamic-state-group-battle-iraq-kills-30-28146948

http://news.yahoo.com/official-islamic-state-group-battle-iraq-kills-30-122419283.html

Comments

[William R. Cumming]

P.L. I am confused! Why not just heavily arm and train the Kurds in Syria and Iraq and reward Turkey for its FP lapses and perhaps Iran also? This is not divide and conquer strategy but rewarding the Kurds for the many betrayals of them by US!

[Aka]

Dear Sir,
while US may be able to hold off any major ISIS offensive, it want be able to hold off random mortar rounds, sniper rounds or suicide bombers. Very high possibility of US taking casualties at least in small numbers.

On other news, ISIS has opened a office in Helmand province but does not seems to very popular among the local Taliban.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/syria-iraq-and-now-afghanistan-isis-advance-enters-helmand-province-for-the-first-time-afghan-officials-confirm-9974304.html

[turcopolier]

AkA

Having been mortared and rocketed a lot, I wholeheartedly agree that US casualties can occur anywhere that our people are exposed to such fire even if the fire is not particularly directed at them. At the same time, a capture of US soldiers will have predictable consequences. pl

[ISL]

WRC:

In recently recovered Jalawla (thanks to Iran), the Shiite militia's have demanded the Kurds who helped retake the town, leave. The Kurds refused, and may start openly fighting with the Shiite militia's. So, here you have the US supporting two sides of a three-way civil war. To ask the obvious question: What could go wrong with allies like these?

Of course its worse, if you note that the "battlefield" extends into Syria (i.e., more than 3 sides), but the US strategy is based on defeating IS in Iraq but not supporting its goals in Syria.

You are right to find this SNAFU confusing.

[AndrewW]

I can't seem to find the link but I read somewhere that Gwer was suppose to be the staging ground for the alleged attack on Mosul scheduled for later this year. If that was true then this is the Islamic State throwing the old monkey wrench. Or simply ruining the party.

[MartinJ]

I've got Gwer (or al-Kuwayr) to the South West of Erbil and - as you said col - half way to Mosul. These are the coords: 36°2'37"N 43°29'59"E
Google Maps says its 59 minutes by car to Erbil. And I didn't notice much in the way of natural obstacles either.

[mike]

Colonel - McClatchy reported on Sunday that the attack was repulsed.

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2015/01/11/252677/in-heaviest-fighting-since-august.html

[makosog]

At least, the Kurds has the courage to fight. Read somewhere that a unit of Iraqi troops (pls. correct the info if wrong) retreated haphazardly when confronted by the Daesh attack. If not for the Kurdish special forces in Gwer (w/c subsequently were reinforced by Peshmergas)Gwer might be in Daesh hand again.

[alba etie]

Mike
al Jezerra America also had a report yesterday that depicted what looked like a A-10 Warthog strafing Daash lines in the vicinity of al Kuwayr .

[LeaNder]

mike, great article. McCatchy did a really good job too during the last decade, where they caught my attention.

"Barzani said Kurdish troops had recovered at least 17 bodies of dead Islamic State fighters and had paraded them in nearby villages because “seeing dead terrorists is good for the morale of the people.”

I am not completely sure, if this is a good approach, but then I have been circling around 'respect' and 'related rights' of the dead in the last decade. Reading a Nazi legal thesis on the subject from the early years of the "third Reich" here in Germany--do with info what you like--but stopping short of looking into the two opposing legal camps in the contemporary legal scene today.

Ok, I'll add that: the Jewish struggle against Mormon practices had caught my attention. And in this context I found out that some 'spiritual German-Jewish friends', like the painter Felix Nussbaum, was among the baptized too.

[bth]

Col. Here is a link to an NPR Hear and Now interview with Mitchell Prothero of McClatchy in Iraq which is worth a few minutes. http://hereandnow.wbur.org/2015/01/14/irbil-iraq-prothero Key takeaways: Iraq army worthless before April and likely inept thereafter, ISIL unable to do much more than raid because of air cover, Gwer was attacked from boats on the river and raid repulsed.

.... As a side note I wonder if the agricultural crops will be planted in ISIL territories this year?

[Fred]

bth,

An interesting comment about the crops. Who would interdict the planting, ISIL or simply fear of combat from any party?