page_title: Battle of Mosul (2016–17)
section_title: Forces involved in the offensive
hierarchical_section_title: Battle of Mosul (2016–17) / Background / Forces involved in the offensive
caption_attribution_description: English: Peshmerga soldiers prepare to conduct a combined arms live-fire exercise near Erbil, Iraq, Oct. 11, 2016. Successful completion of CALFEX validates Peshmerga soldiers’ ability to strategically plan and tactically maneuver in a realistic combat environment. This training is part of the Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve building partner capacity mission to increase the security capacity of the Peshmerga forces fighting the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Lisa Soy)
context_page_description: The Battle of Mosul (2016–17) was a major military campaign launched by the Iraqi Government forces with allied militias, the Kurdistan Regional Government, and international forces to retake the city of Mosul from the Islamic State, which had seized the city in June 2014. During the military intervention against ISIL, Iraqi and Peshmerga forces had already made unsuccessful attempts to retake the city in 2015 and again in 2016, despite limited gains. The battle was also the world's single largest military operation in nearly 15 years, the largest since the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
  The offensive, dubbed Operation "We Are Coming, Nineveh", began on 16 October 2016, with forces besieging ISIL-controlled areas in the Nineveh Governorate surrounding Mosul, and continued with Iraqi troops and Peshmerga fighters engaging ISIL on three fronts outside Mosul, going from village to village in the surrounding area in the largest deployment of Iraqi troops since the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
  At dawn on 1 November 2016, Iraqi Special Operations Forces entered the city from the east.
context_section_description: About 3,000–5,000 ISIL fighters were estimated to be in Mosul city, according to the United States Department of Defense. Other estimates ranged as low as 2,000 and high as 12,000 ISIL fighters. Mosul Eye estimated approximately 8,000–9,000 fighters loyal to ISIL, with "half of them... highly trained, and the rest... either teenagers or not well trained. About ten percent of the fighters are foreign (Arabs and non-Arabs). The rest are Iraqis. Most are from Nineveh's townships and districts." Prior to the start of the battle, in late September 2016, it was estimated that around 20,000 ISIL fighters were living in Mosul, many of whom later fled the city to Syria and Ar-Raqqah, when Iraqi forces began to besiege Mosul.
  The Iraqi-led coalition was initially estimated by CNN to have 94,000 members, but this number was later revised upward to 108,500; 54,000 to 60,000 Iraqi security forces (ISF) soldiers, 16,000 Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) fighters (also referred to as PMU), and 40,000 Peshmerga (including approximately 200 Iranian Kurdish female fighters from the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK)) were deployed in the battle. The Iraqi and Peshmerga forces deployed for the Mosul operation were estimated to have outnumbered the ISIL militants present by 10-to-1.
  Among the PMF units, the Nineveh Plain Protection Units composed of Assyrians are among the paramilitary forces in the government coalition. Shia militias, including several brigades of the paramilitary organization Hashd al-Shaabi, the Peace Companies, Kata'ib Hezbollah, the League of the Righteous, the Badr Organization, Saraya Ashura, Saraya Khorasani, Kata'ib al-Imam Ali, Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba and Turkmen Brigades also took part. The Ezidi community of the Sinjar region contributed the Sinjar Resistance Units (YBŞ) and Êzîdxan Women's Units (YJÊ), which are operating in concert with Sunni Arab Shammar tribal militias and People's Defence Forces (HPG) of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Other Assyrian forces involved in the planned offensive included the Nineveh Plain Forces (NPF) and Dwekh Nawsha, who are allied to the Peshmerga.
  An international coalition of 60 nations, led by the United States, is supporting Iraq's war against ISIL, providing logistical and air support, intelligence, and advice. The international coalition forces are headquartered 60 kilometres (37 mi) south of Mosul at Qayyarah Airfield West (or Q-West) in Qayyarah, which was retaken from ISIL in June. About 560 U.S. troops from the 101st Airborne Division were deployed to Q-West for the battle, including command and control elements, a security detachment, an airfield operations team, and logistics and communications specialists. The U.S. deployed HIMARS rocket launchers and M777 howitzers, manned by the 101st's 2nd Brigade Combat Team and the Golf Company, 526th Brigade Support Battalion. The French army deployed four CAESAR howitzers and 150 to 200 soldiers at Qayyarah, with 600 more French troops announced at the end of September. An additional 150 French soldiers are in Erbil, east of Mosul, training Peshmerga. The aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, with a squadron of 24 Rafale M jets, was deployed from Toulon to the Syrian coast to support the operation against ISIL through airstrikes and reconnaissance missions; 12 other Rafale jets are operating out of French Air Force bases in Jordan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). 80 Australian special forces soldiers and 210 Canadian Special Operations Forces Command (CANSOFCOM) soldiers were also deployed to assist the Peshmerga. In addition, the Canadian Forces 21 Electronic Warfare Regiment was also reported to be in the area, working to intercept and relay ISIL communications, while a Role 2 Canadian Army field hospital with 60 personnel has been set up to treat Peshmerga casualties.
  The Ba'ath loyalists group, known to be led by Saddam Hussein's former vice president Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, issued a statement before the start of operations calling for the people of the city to start an uprising against ISIL and announced that they
caption: Peshmerga soldiers prepare to conduct a combined arms live-fire exercise with an Italian instructor near Erbil, on 12 October 2016.
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