美軍將領敦促伊拉克在摩蘇爾戰鬥中保持力度

The general running the coalition's ground campaign in Iraq is urging Iraqi forces fighting for Mosul not to "go so fast that they start to give opportunity to the enemy."

"I'm not telling the Iraqis not to rush to Mosul. I'm telling them you've got the momentum, sustain the momentum, continue to put unrelenting pressure on the enemy and then the enemy is going to break," Maj. Gen. Gary Volesky told reporters via teleconference from Baghdad Wednesday.

The general said he expects Islamic State fighters to fight with a "full-fledged conventional defense in Mosul" until they lose the city. After that, he said, IS will turn into more of an insurgent force, using unconventional methods to make harassing attacks on Iraqis forces and civilians.

The U.S. has provided intelligence, logistics support, thousands of airstrikes, artillery fire and Apache helicopters to support the fight for Mosul. However, that fight is not the general's sole focus. Volesky said some of his American forces are intentionally in other areas of Iraq to prevent any potential Islamic State efforts to shift the Iraqi government's interest to the country's south.

Meanwhile, the international charity Save the Children says thousands of people have fled the Mosul area in order to escape the unfolding offensive by Iraqi and Kurdish forces to retake the city from Islamic State militants. The aid group said about 5,000 people have arrived in the past 10 days at a refugee camp over the border in Syria, which risks being overwhelmed as more people flee.駐伊拉克聯軍陸地行動指揮官呼籲伊拉克軍隊在摩蘇爾之戰中不要急於求成，給敵人可乘之機。

美國陸軍少將加里∙沃拉斯基星期三在巴格達通過電話會議告訴媒體說，“我不是讓伊拉克部隊不向摩蘇爾推進，我是告訴他們，你們已經掌握了勢頭，要保持現有勢頭，繼續向敵人施加壓力， 敵人終將潰敗。”

沃拉斯基將軍說，他預計伊斯蘭國武裝分子在失去摩蘇爾前一定會進行一場全面常規守衛戰 ，然後他們會作爲反叛力量，利用非常規手段向伊拉克軍隊和平民發動擾亂襲擊。

美國通過情報，後勤，空襲，炮火和阿帕奇直升機爲摩蘇爾之戰提供支援，不過沃拉斯基將軍說，摩蘇爾之戰並非他的唯一重點。美國軍人也被派往伊拉克其他地方，避免伊斯蘭國組織試圖把伊拉克政府的注意力引向伊拉克南部。

與此同時，國際慈善組織拯救兒童會說，在伊拉克與庫爾德部隊向佔領摩蘇爾的伊斯蘭國武裝分子發動進攻、重奪城市控制權之際，數以千計的人逃離摩蘇爾地區。這個救援組織說，已有大約5000人在過去10天內抵達伊拉克和敘利亞邊境地帶的一個難民營。目前仍不斷有難民涌入，因此該難民營恐怕將不堪負荷。