Two crudely armoured pick-up trucks cruised along an eastern Mosul highway. A masked Iraqi officer riding shotgun yelled “Go! Go! Go!” and switched the radio from Iraqi folk music to fast, patriotic battle hymns as the vehicles sped up and weaved through the busy afternoon traffic.
Inside were members of Iraq’s National Security Service, or NSS, a secretive intelligence and security unit that reports directly to the Prime Minister. Using tips from Mosul residents, they are taking the lead in hunting down suspected Islamic State sleeper cells that have managed remain behind as Iraqi forces fight to retake the country’s second largest city.
As Iraqi forces secure territorial victories in Mosul’s western half, taking the city’s airport and a sprawling military complex, the east an area declared “fully liberated” from the extremists in January has been rocked by insurgent attacks, including one earlier this month targeting a popular restaurant. Iraqi intelligence officials estimate dozens of IS fighters and sympathisers remain in hiding in eastern Mosul’s more than 60 square km of dense urban neighbourhoods.
“These are people I know,” said Col. Hisham, a Mosul native and assistant commander of the Nineveh division of the NSS who led the operation on Tuesday.
“For example one of my neighbours was a major IS commander. There have been many times that I’ve been surprised that suspects are people that I know. But we have to do our job,” said Col. Hisham, who gave only his first name because he feared for his family’s safety.
During Tuesday’s raid, the convoy of trucks swerved onto a side road and turned into an alley, braking suddenly outside its first target — the home of a suspected IS member. Leaping to the ground, the NSS forces secured a perimeter then forced their way into the courtyard of a modest home. They emerged moments later with a tracksuit —clad man in a headlock as a female relative screamed in shock.
Another unit kicked in the metal gate of a second house and pulled out a frightened — looking teen. Both were bundled into the back of one of the pick-ups, their hands bound. Family members protested loudly, only withdrawing after an officer fired his rifle into the air.
In the months since Iraqi troops began pushing the IS out of Mosul’s eastern half, life has returned to the city’s streets. Roads are packed with cars, minibuses and yellow taxis. At busy traffic circles, stalls sell fresh vegetables and meat. A handful of clothing shops have reopened and residents have begun rebuilding homes damaged by airstrikes, car bombs and small-arms fire.
But there are also strong undercurrents of unease. One resident reported a number of IS sympathisers remain in his neighbourhood despite the streets being declared “cleared” by Iraqi security forces. One family, who relocated to Erbil, 75 km east of Mosul, after their neighbourhood was retaken by government forces, said they were too scared to return after seeing how many IS members remained behind.
Intense clashes
While some raids play out smoothly, like the one conducted on Tuesday, others devolve into intense clashes. One operation escalated into a heavy gun battle with dug-in militants, Col. Hisham said. “They were shooting and had tunnels under the house and explosives.”
Many suspects are identified from tips from local residents. An NSS hotline number is spray-painted along eastern Mosul’s walls and broadcast on TV channels calling on anyone with information to come forward.
“We have to work hard to build trust between us and the civilians. It has to be a circle where we trust them and they trust us,” he said.
“Right now we have the goodwill between the people and the security forces,” said a Mosul resident and former officer in Saddam Hussein’s military. “But of course that can change, if conditions don’t improve.”
