Battle of Hawija explained

Conflict:Battle of Hawija
Partof:the American-led intervention in Iraq (2014–present) and the War in Iraq (2013–2017)
Date:20 September – 8 October 2017
[1] [2]
Place:Eastern Iraq
Territory:The Iraqi Army recaptures Hawija, 155 villages,[3] and the rest of the eastern Salahuddin and Diyala Provinces
Result:Decisive Iraqi victory
Combatant1: Iraq
Supported by:
[4]
CJTF–OIR
Combatant2:
Commander1: Abdul-Amir Rashid Yarallah[5]

Qais Khazali[6]

Akram al-Kaabi

Abu Mushtaq
Commander2: Qusay Hassan Wali Al-Bayati "Abu Haytham"[7]

Abu Nasser al-Zawbaei[8]

Abu Abdullah al-Tajiki[9]
Units1: Iraqi Security Forces
Units2: Military of ISIL
  • Garrison of Wilayat Kirkuk and Wilayat Dijlah
    • Saladin Battalion
  • Elite forces
    • Seekers of Martyrdom[13]
Strength1:42,000 soldiers[14]
Strength2:1,500–2,000 militants[15] [16]
Casualties1:Unknown
Casualties2:942 killed (Iraqi claim)
1,000 captured or surrendered

The Battle of Hawija was an offensive launched in September 2017 by the Iraqi Army, in order to recapture the town of Hawija and the surrounding areas from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).[17]

The offensive was concurrent with the 2017 Central Syria campaign by the Syrian Army to capture ISIL territory towards Deir ez-Zor, as well as with the Raqqa campaign (2016–17) conducted by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) against ISIL's de facto capital city and stronghold in Syria.

Background

See also: 2013 Hawija clashes, Northern Iraq offensive (June 2014) and Battle of Tal Afar (2017). Hawija, which is located 50km (30miles) west of Kirkuk city, had been a bastion of Sunni Arab insurgents since the United States-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.[18] In 2013, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki ordered his forces to open fire on peaceful protesters in Hawija. In return, Sunnis became convinced of using violence to counter Maliki's sectarian policies while also giving substantial support to Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.[19] The group captured the city in June 2014 when it seized control of most of northern and western Iraq.[18] It became isolated from the rest of the group's territory in July 2016 during the Mosul offensive and was its last stronghold in Iraq.[20] The offensive had been repeatedly delayed due to various sectarian issues, as well as disagreements over the involvement of the Peshmerga and the Popular Mobilization Forces militia.[21]

Timeline of the offensive

The offensive began on 20 September, from the northwest of Hawija, as Iraqi forces recaptured four villages northeast of al-Shirqat (which itself was captured a year earlier during the 2016 Mosul offensive).[22] On the following day, the Iraqi forces managed to liberate at least 11 villages in the Hawija pocket, killing and wounding several terrorists in the process. The goal of Iraqi forces is penetrating the city of Hawija with several side wings, as they want to secure these important areas in the Kirkuk Governorate.[23] On 22 September, Iraqi forces liberated approximately 140 square kilometers of territory north of the district of Hawija from the Kirkuk Governorate. Led by Hashd Al-Sha'abi (Popular Mobilization Forces), Iraqi forces have liberated at least 15 villages in the Al-Shirqat district, located directly northwest of the country.[24] On 24 September, the Iraqi forces declared that they had finished Phase 1 of the offensive, having liberated all of the areas north of the Al-Zab River, along with some other areas west of the Tigris River and in the northern Makhoul Mountains. They also stated that they killed 200 ISIL militants during the operation.[25] On 29 September, Iraqi forces launched the second phase of the offensive, capturing four villages and entering the town of al-Abbassi.[26] Iraqi forces reported that they killed another 200 ISIL militants on the first day of Phase 2 of the offensive.[27] On 4 October, Iraqi troops entered the city of Hawija;[28] with the local ISIL garrison showing relatively little resistance, the government forces quickly sized several neighborhoods.[5] On the following day, Iraqi forces took control of the city centre and liberated the entire city.[29] [30] On October 8, the Iraqi Army cleared out the remaining ISIL-held points, and with the victory in Hawija, Iraqi Defense Ministry's War Media Cell released an updated map of the country, showing the remaining areas of Iraq under ISIL control now limited to the western Anbar Province and southwestern Nineveh Province.[2]

This offensive saw the first time that large numbers of ISIL fighters had surrendered en masse, instead of fighting to the death. It was also noted that in the "Hawija Pocket," ISIL fighters put up little to no resistance at all, other than planting bombs and booby traps.[31]

Iraqi war hero Abu Tahsin al-Salhi was killed in action within this operation, on September 29, 2017.

Aftermath

See main article: Battle of Kirkuk (2017) and 2017 Western Iraq campaign.

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Iraq forces retake town of Hawija from IS. 5 October 2017. BBC News. 5 October 2017.
  2. Web site: Map: Remaining Iraqi Territories Under Control of IS. 8 October 2017. Basnews. 8 October 2017.
  3. Web site: Over 300 Islamic State militants killed in Hawija offensive: Commander. 7 October 2017. Iraqi News. 7 October 2017.
  4. News: Iran-backed Militia Taking Leading Role in Operation for Iraq's Hawija . Dlshad Anwar . . 27 September 2017. 1 October 2017.
  5. News: Iraqi Army, Allied Shiite Forces Enter IS-held Hawija . Rikar Hussein . . 4 October 2017. 9 October 2017.
  6. News: Iraqi troops, Iranian-backed militias eject Islamic State from Hawija . Bill Roggio . . 5 October 2017. 8 October 2017.
  7. News: Hawija: The next battle in Iraq's war against the Islamic State group . Gareth Browne . The New Arab . 2 September 2017. 8 October 2017.
  8. News: Iraqi airstrike kills ISIS Wali of Hawija near Kirkuk . Loaa Adel . Iraqi Times . 29 September 2017. 8 October 2017.
  9. News: IS's Baghdadi's close member, five snipers, killed in airstrike in Kirkuk . Nehal Mostafa . Iraqi Times . 7 October 2017. 8 October 2017.
  10. Web site: The Hawija Offensive: A Liberation Exposes Faultlines . Derek Henry Flood . . 18 October 2017 . 25 October 2017 . 3 November 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191103143744/https://ctc.usma.edu/the-hawija-offensive-a-liberation-exposes-faultlines/ . dead .
  11. http://www.harbipress.com/news.php?News=24034 آخر التطورات الميدانية لعمليات قادمون يا حويجة حتى الساعة
  12. Web site: بالفيديو: لواء 16 الحشد الشعبي قوة التركمان تعلن استعدادها الكامل للمشاركة في عمليات تحريرى الحويجة - تقارير وتحقيقات . 2018-07-03 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180703162349/http://www.wr-news.net/arabic/reports/2192 . 2018-07-03 . dead .
  13. News: ISIS Fighters, Having Pledged to Fight or Die, Surrender en Masse . Rod Nordland . . 8 October 2017. 8 October 2017.
  14. Web site: Iraq Brought About 42K Fighters Near Daesh Controlled Hawija For Hawija Operation. LiveuaMap. 13 September 2017.
  15. News: 1,000 ISIS militants surrender as Iraq retakes key town of Hawija . Jim Michaels. USA Today.
  16. Web site: Iraq: Who will control Hawija after ISIL?. Osama bin Javaid. Al Jazeera. September 23, 2017. September 23, 2017.
  17. News: Iraqi forces launch offensive to retake Hawija from IS. 21 September 2017. BBC News. 21 September 2017.
  18. News: Iraqi forces launch offensive to retake Hawija from IS. 21 September 2017. BBC. 16 September 2017.
  19. News: Battle to remove ISIL from Hawija could unlock further sectarian tensions. Florian Nehouf. 22 September 2017. The National. 7 September 2017.
  20. News: Almost everybody is against a Kurdish referendum. 21 September 2017. The Economist. 16 September 2017.
  21. News: Abadi blames Peshmerga fragmentation for delay in Hawija op. 21 September 2017. Rudaw Media Network. 6 September 2017.
  22. Web site: The Iraqi army and the PMU control 4 villages in North-East of Sharqat. LiveuaMap. 5 October 2017.
  23. Web site: Iraqi forces make significant advance towards Hawija: map. 21 September 2017. 5 October 2017. 14 April 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190414143334/https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/iraqi-forces-make-significant-advance-towards-hawija-map/. dead.
  24. Web site: Iraqi forces liberate 140km2 of territory north of Hawija. 22 September 2017. 5 October 2017. 14 April 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190414114404/https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/iraqi-forces-liberate-140km2-territory-north-hawija/. dead.
  25. Web site: Iraqi forces end phase 1 of Hawija offensive: command. Mohammed Mostafa. 2 September 2017. 27 September 2017.
  26. Web site: More than 40 IS militants killed, as second phase of Hawija offensive starts. Nehal Mostafa. Iraqi News. 29 September 2017. 29 September 2017.
  27. Web site: 200 IS members killed on first day of Hawija offensive's second phase. Nehal Mostafa. Iraqi News. 29 September 2017. 30 September 2017.
  28. Web site: Les forces irakiennes entrent dans Hawija, le dernier bastion nordiste de l'EI. 4 October 2017. 5 October 2017.
  29. Web site: L'EI perd son dernier grand centre urbain en Irak. 5 October 2017. 5 October 2017.
  30. Web site: Reuters in Baghdad . Hawija: Iraqi army says it has recaptured one of last Isis enclaves | World news . The Guardian . 5 October 2017 . 2018-04-30.
  31. Web site: ISIS fighters, once bent on martyrdom, surrender en masse from last Iraqi stronghold. Alex Lockie. Business Insider. 9 October 2017. 20 October 2017.