MOSUL, Iraq – ISIS is reportedly using advanced weaponry against advancing Iraqi forces in Mosul, including laser-fitted weapons and Russian-made Kornet anti-tank missiles. “We cannot transport our soldiers in tanks and armored vehicles because of the smart- and high-precision weapons that ISIS is using on the battlefield,” an Iraqi military commander from the 9th Armored Division told Rudaw in Mosul. “We cannot move our tanks and armored vehicles into the districts until our forces take control of the alleys,” he said. Iraqi forces say they have taken control of a third of Mosul’s east bank, but are facing stiffer resistance from ISIS fighters as they push to penetrate deeper into the city. ISIS fighters have reportedly destroyed a number of Iraqi army tanks and armored vehicles using the Russian-made anti-tank weapon known as “Kornet,” which is similar to European-made Milan missile. A Peshmerga commander said that Iraqi Army advances in Mosul are expected to go slower because of the weapons and tactics the militants have been using. “The Iraqi army’s advance into Mosul will be slower (in the next phases) as war plans change with ISIS using new tactics, especially now that we know ISIS has modern weapons, such as laser-fitted weapons and the Kornet, which is an anti-tank weapon,” said Lt. Gen. Jamal Imniki, chief of staff of the Peshmerga forces. The Iraqi and Syrian armies both had supplies of the missiles, but it is unclear where ISIS may have obtained the weapon. ISIS largely armed itself with large caches of weapons left on the battlefields by retreating Iraqi forces in June 2014. In addition, ISIS has been fighting in Syria, where the city of Raqqa is capital of its so-called “caliphate.”
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