5/1/2023 0 Comments Battle nations forumLion-1, with its capabilities and discipline was tasked with filling this tall order.Ī combination of recon and sympathetic informants within the Mosul Police Force, estimated defenders to number roughly 34,000 combined forces of police and SWAT units acting as a provisional military within the city. The Ghurabaa high command hoped to use the airport to receive a greater influx foreign fighters in the near future. The airport had been identified as an enemy strong point by the sleeper-cell reconnaissance days prior, and was to be isolated and captured with minimal damage to its infrastructure. Quraishi himself sprinted and crouched between disabled cars, keeping pace with his men, letting off bursts of fire at passing patrol units as civilians scattering in all directions provided unconventional cover. Under the cover of smoke and heavy fire by "green" units of the JGJ, Lion-1 blitzed toward Mosul International Airport. A dazed SWAT officer raising his weapon quickly flops to the ground amid a hail of AK-47 rounds peppering a nearby patrol car he used for cover.Ī JGJ fighter runs over and stands on his corpse, "By Allah's permission, we trample upon them!"Ĭrouched amongst the rubble of the shattered Mosul walls, Abu Musa al-Quraishi, commander of the first all-Foreign Fighter elite Ghurabaa unit "Lion-1", informed his men of their objectives in the assault on the city. The driver was even able to park and leave his vehicle in a construction site near the north end of the city, getting himself to a safe position before he remotely detonated the VBIED.Īn RPG flies into an armored SWAT personnel carrier, bringing it to a sudden stop under a plume of smoke. Dozens of men of the JGJ pour through the blasted ruins of the wall, quickly overrunning the small police presence that scrambled to the area. This was accomplished with relative ease as the MSF were all racing to secure the south from the onslaught of JGJ jihadis now storming the blasted walls of the city. A risky move, the fighter was applauded by his commander as he was now given updated instructions to take his vehicle as far north in the city as he presumed possible and sow further confusion amongst Security Forces. At this time, a call was made to JGJ command from the driver of the 4th VBIED that he had slipped into traffic into the heart of the city and had not yet detonated his car. Ghurabaa infiltrators sprung into action, lobbing grenades at MSF stations and checkpoints while opening fire with automatic weapons at any Security personnel in their sight. Bewildered residents only just began to take note of the strange dust cloud from nowhere, when 3 massive explosions roared from the south of the city sending black smoke billowing into the sky.Īt the same time, a group-text message was sent out to the men leading the various sleeper-cells within the city with a simple message: As soon as they passed JGJ hidden positions, they quickly accelerated toward the city and broke off in all directions, making "donuts" in the sands causing a man-made dust cloud to the south-east where the Ghurabaa readied themselves to attack.Ĥ VBIED car-bombs now drove headlong into the ancient, walled portion of the city to penetrate several areas of the city as it was assumed the main roads would be most heavily guarded by the defenders. These generally consisted of sheet metal, with ribbon cuts to resemble large rakes, attached along the sides of each vehicle in order to kick up as much dust as possible. ![]() Several of these car-bombs were camouflaged, lightly armored, and parked off of the roads on the outskirts of the city, while several "regular" vehicles with more rudimentary upgrades began to approach. The "wonder weapon" of the JGJ was the Vehicle-borne Improvised Explosive Device (VBIED), which at the potential cost of a loyal fighter at the wheel, would wreak havoc on targeted enemy positions. The opening phase of the assault consisted of meticulous planning for the creation of absolute chaos amongst the forces of the city. Looking down the barrel of a gun, it is said, the Ghurabaa only see Paradise. ![]() ![]() These men were poorly trained, equipped with a range of small arms and RPG's, but extremely fanatical to the cause. The Ghurabaa sleeper-cells remained on standby until the assault on the city was initiated by the bulk of their forces, nearly 500 in strength. Small squads of fighters were placed within the city in the weeks after the creation of the JGJ, targeting Mosul Security Forces ( MSF) and monitoring centers of the Shia community where JGJ propaganda insists opposition militias constantly lie in wait. Forces of the Jama'at al-Ghurabaa wal-Jihad (JGJ) consisted almost entirely of infantry, zealous men of the villages surrounding the city of Mosul and a vanguard of foreign fighters responding to Iklas' call to jihad, who were reported to steadily be trickling in.
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