23,000 Iraqi security men killed in offensive to liberate Mosul

Mosul (Iraq), December 25

More than 23,000 members of the Iraqi security forces were killed during the offensive to wrest control of the northern city of Mosul from the Islamic State, a parliamentary source told Efe on Sunday.

The chairman of Parliament’s Security and Defence Committee, Hakim al-Zamili, added that almost 70,000 members of the security forces were wounded during the October 2016-July 2017 offensive.

The offensive resulting in the expulsion of IS members from Mosul caused damage and losses of $3 billion, along with the expenditure of tons of weapons and ammunition as well as the loss of a large number of military vehicles, according to Al-Zamili.

He added that civilians suffered billions of dollars in material and economic losses.

The parliamentary committee has been conducting an investigation into the reasons why the IS came to control the city in 2014.

However, he said that judicial authorities did not begin an investigation with an eye toward assigning blame for losing Mosul in first place, despite the legislative committee’s report on the matter. — IANS