- Title: Coalition failed to provide air support in Iraq battle - Peshmerga
- Date: 23rd October 2016
- Summary: NEAR BATNAYA, IRAQ (OCTOBER 20, 2016) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF PESHMERGA MILITARY VEHICLES ADVANCING ON MOSUL NEAR BATNAYA, IRAQ (OCTOBER 21, 2016) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) COMMANDER OF PESHMERGA SPECIAL FORCES, MANSOUR BARZANI, SAYING: "Yesterday, 6 o'clock in the morning, we had a plan to control some area from the terrorist ISIS hand and thank God we could start at 6
- Embargoed: 7th November 2016 15:34
- Keywords: Iraq Barzani Peshmerga U.S. Batnaya
- Location: NEAR BATNAYA, IRAQ
- City: NEAR BATNAYA, IRAQ
- Country: Iraq
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Military Conflicts
- Reuters ID: LVA0015584MRR
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: The commander of Kurdish Peshmerga Special Forces said on Friday (October 21) that his troops had not been given the promised air support by coalition forces as they advanced on Mosul.
Mansour Barzani, son of the Kurdish regional President Massoud Barzani, said the lack of help meant his troops hadn't been able to make as much progress as they had intended.
"Because we haven't any support of the air force, and I have no idea why yesterday it was like this, and that's why we couldn't control all this area what we had in our plan," he said.
Barzani made the comments close to the Christian town of Batnaya, from where IS was launching mortar attacks against his troops.
He said that despite numerous calls to the operations room, and assurances that help was coming, not a "single bomb" was dropped by coalition forces.
It was only when the sun went down, he said, that the coalition launched air strikes on Batnaya.
"After the weather come dark, we had a lot of support from the aircraft," he said.
But Peshmerga forces lost at least two of their soldiers in the battle, he said, adding that they didn't have the weaponry to fight effectively against the well-armed Islamic State.
"The terrorists ISIS they got a lot of weapons from the Iraqi army," he said.
Barzani said that in meetings between the Kurdish president, Iraq's Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, and the U.S, military, prior to the coordinated attack, it was agreed that the Peshmerga would advance ahead of the Iraqi army, with the promise of much needed air support.
"We did it because they told us. Otherwise we haven't any problem with our old frontline," he said, alluding to the fact that the advance would redraw the borders of the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), widening its territory.
Around 6,000 Peshmerga Special Forces began a 30 km wide advance from north of Mosul at 6 a.m. (0300 GMT), clearing the way of mines, while taking heavy mortar fire from neighboring small villages under the control of Islamic State.
Despite being caught off-guard by the lack of air support, they said they had managed to recapture 75 percent of the territory they had planned. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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