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A boy carried belongings through rubble as he fled fighting between Iraqi special forces and Islamic State militants in western Mosul, Iraq, on Monday.

HAMAM AL-ALIL, Iraq During a visit south of Mosul on Monday, a senior US official praised territorial gains against the Islamic State group in Iraq, but local officials cautioned more aid is needed to rebuild following victories against the extremists.

The Mosul fight is approaching its final stages, Brett McGurk, special presidential envoy for the global coalition against the Islamic State, said during a meeting with Iraqi military and civilian officials at a water treatment plant near the town of Hamam al-Alil.

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The world is now seeing that (Iraqi) soldiers are completely destroying Daesh, McGurk said, using the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State group that is also referred to as ISIS and ISIL. He described the fight to retake Mosul, which was launched nearly seven months ago, as one of the most difficult urban battles since World War II.

But the men who had gathered to receive McGurk and US Ambassador to Iraq Douglas Silliman were dressed in suits, not fatigues, and they had come asking for aid, not weapons and training.

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With the fight against ISIS in Iraq about to enter its fourth year, more than half of the territory the extremists once held is now under government control, but with those advances has come greater demand for reconstruction money.

The US military footprint in Iraq has steadily grown in the buildup to and throughout the Mosul operation, but US funds for humanitarian relief and stabilization remain a fraction of defense spending in this fight.

We are looking for more support as the west side of the city will be liberated soon, Major General Muhammed al-Shimary with Nineveh Operations Command told McGurk after thanking him for US assistance in the fight so far.

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McGurk said the water treatment plant that now provides water to more than 100,000 people in Nineveh is symbolic of this entire effort that weve embarked upon to defeat Daesh.

Here in Nineveh we have hundreds of projects like this funded by our coalition, he said, adding that a similar list of reconstruction projects was being drawn up for the rebel-held Syrian city of Raqqa as US-led coalition forces surround it ahead of a long-anticipated operation to retake it.

But overall, US contributions to Iraqi reconstruction are unlikely to meet the countrys needs. Iraq continues to struggle with an economic crisis and the central government has called on the international community to provide the bulk of the funds.

Last year under the Obama administration, McGurk emphasized the need for a balance between speed and sustainability in the fight against the Islamic State.

Before you launch a major operation you have to have in place who is going to hold the city, who is going to govern the city, he told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during testimony in June 2016.

However, President Trump has pledged to accelerate the military fight. While the White House has yet to release an official overhaul of the fight, since taking office Trump has handed greater decision-making power regarding troop levels in Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan to the Pentagon.

Additionally, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has emphasized the limited role the United States will play in reconstruction in Iraq and Syria.

As a coalition we are not in the business of nation-building or reconstruction, Tillerson said during a meeting of foreign ministers in Washington in March. Instead, he said the United States would equip war torn communities to take the lead in rebuilding their institutions and returning to stability.

As of March 31, the Pentagon has spent $12.5 billion on the fight against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria with daily costs averaging $13 million since the operation was launched in 2014.

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US trumpets Mosul gains, but Iraq says more aid needed - The Boston Globe

Assistant Commandant Gen. Glenn Walters on May 18 will present the Silver Star to a Marine who initially received the Bronze Star for saving his linguist in Iraq.

Capt. Andrew Kims award was upgraded as part of a Defense Department-wide review of nearly 1,400 combat valor awards issued since 2001, a Marine Corps news release says. He will receive the Silver Star at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms in California.

A sergeant at the time, Kim was on a mission on Aug. 6, 2003, when an Iraqi man shot the linguist in the neck, the news release says. Kim killed the attacker, but small-arms fire erupted from the rear and Kim was hit several times.

Disregarding his own wounds, Kim grabbed the linguist and helped him into a vehicle, the news release says. They drove off but five Iraqis in a white pickup truck gave chase while firing at their vehicle.

After linking up with other Marines, Kim ordered a counter-attack that killed his pursuers, the news release says

Kims gallantry and effectiveness under fire saved the lives of all those conducting the mission, the news release says. By his bold initiative, undaunted courage and complete dedication to duty, Kim reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service.

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Marine to receive Silver Star for saving linguist in Iraq - Marine Corps Times

Adding to the growing civilian death toll caused by US airstrikes in Iraq and Syria, the US overnight attacked the Syrian border town of Abu Kamal, along the key Iraqi border crossing, killing at least 30 civilians in the process.

The US carried out the strikes at 3:00 am, targeting a series of apartment buildings in the towns residential area. Unsurprisingly, the apartments were full of sleeping civilians, and also unsurprisingly, blowing up the apartments killed a lot of them.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, ISIS is believed to have been using some of the apartments in the targeted area. There is, however, no sign that the apartments the US bombed contained any of the ISIS fighters in question.

This is the latest in a growing number of US strikes around Syria which have killed civilians, with reports of at least 87 civilians killed in the last five days from US and coalition strikes.

Abu Kamal is a hugely important strategic holding of ISIS, though its value has dropped somewhat since they lost most of their territory in Iraqs Anbar Province. Still, it is along the main highway connecting Syrias Deir Ezzor and Iraq, and has been contested by US-backed rebels intermittently, albeit unsuccessfully.

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US Airstrike Kills at Least 30 Syrian Civilians Near Iraq Border - Antiwar.com

KXAN.com

From Iraq to Leander: A flag to honor fallen peace officers KXAN.com In 2009, Carson returned to Iraq and visited Camp Wetherbee, named for Darrell Wetherbee, an international police officer killed by sniper fire there. Carson saw many commonalities between his family and Wetherbee, who was both a Marine and a Maine ... and more »

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From Iraq to Leander: A flag to honor fallen peace officers - KXAN.com

David Burge , El Paso Times Published 2:02 p.m. MT May 14, 2017 | Updated 6:38 p.m. MT May 14, 2017

Lt. Col. Mike Bandy and CSM Marcus Alford talk about 1AD headquarters' upcoming deployment to Iraq. Wochit

Soldiers with the 1st Armored Division practice the key skill of breaking down and moving their battlefield command post during the Warfighter exercise in February. This exercise was part of the train-up for Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion as it got ready to deploy to Iraq.(Photo: DAVID BURGE/EL PASO TIMES)Buy Photo

After months of training, soldiers from the 1st Armored Divisions headquarters are ready to deploy and get on with their new mission.

About 400 soldiers from the divisions Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, with a small contingent fromDivision Artillery, will deploy to Iraq in June.

The team will include Fort Bliss and 1st Armored Division commanding general Maj. Gen. Robert Pat White and division Command Sgt. Maj. Danny Day.

Related:Taking care of families part of Iraq deployment plan

Soldiers have been training really hard for the past year, said 1st Lt. Carlos Valenica, the executive officer for Headquarters Support Company with HHBN, as the headquarters battalion is more often called.

So finally being able to enact that training in a real-world scenario, I think a lot of soldiers are very excited to get out the door, said Valencia, from Austin, Texas.

White will lead what is called the Combined Joint Forces Land Component Command in Iraq. In that role, the 1st Armored Division will be responsible for mission command over coalition forces who are training, advising and assisting Iraqi security forces in their fight against the Islamic State and other threats.

The deployment is expected to last nine months.

In February, 1st Armored Division soldiers, including those from Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, practiced moving their battlefield headquarters during the Warfighter exercise.(Photo: DAVID BURGE/EL PASO TIMES)

Division headquarters around the Army regularly deploy, but this is the first time that the 1st Armored Division headquarters has deployed since it moved to Fort Bliss from Germany in 2011, said Lt. Col. Mike Bandy, the commander of HHBN.

These Fort Bliss soldiers will take over the mission command role from the 1st Infantry Division headquarters from Fort Riley, Kan., and will officially start the mission in July.

The Gladiators, as the headquarters battalion is nicknamed, contain a diverse array of soldiers who specialize in military intelligence, supply, maintenance, human resources and signal support, among other functions.

The battalion will bring representatives from all those different specialty areas and will provide a wide range logistical support so White and his staff can conduct mission command while in Iraq, Bandy said.

Since Bandy took command of HHBN on Jan. 19, the battalion has been working nonstop to prepare for this deployment, he said.

The battalion took part in the large-scale Warfighter exercise in February and recently completed a mission readiness exercise called Iron Gauntlet that mimicked what it will experience in Iraq, Bandy said.

A Look Back:Competition tests skills as medics, soldiers

Before coming to Fort Bliss, Bandy, a Green Beret, served as the operations officer for Special Operations Joint Task Force-Iraq, when he was stationed at Fort Bragg, N.C.

Bandy served a six-month deployment in Iraq lasting until July 2016. So, he is quite familiar with the mission set and conditions on the ground there.

Soldiers from the 1st Armored Division headquarters and the division's Sustainment Brigade both participated in the recent Warfighter exercise in preparation for upcoming deployments.(Photo: DAVID BURGE/EL PASO TIMES)

One of the challenges the battalion will face is it will operate with smaller teams in several locations while deployed, said Maj. Tam Dam, the battalion operations officer from San Jose, Calif.

The challenge is maintaining communication when we are down range, Dam said. We already have a plan in place. Thinking through those kinds of things will probably reduce a lot of the friction when you go down range.

Battalion Command Sgt. Maj. Marcus Alford, of Dillon, S.C., said HHBN is absolutely ready for its Iraq mission.

I think the soldiers want the opportunity to get out and show that they are trained and prepared for this, Alford said.

Any mission America calls us to do is important, Alford added. We will get out there and continue moving forward with the Iraqis in their development.

David Burge may be reached at 546-6126; dburge@elpasotimes.com; @dburge1962 on Twitter.

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1AD HQ ready to 'get out door' on Iraq mission - El Paso Times