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By Mstyslav Chernov and Felipe Dana

Photo: Felipe Dana, Associated Press

An Iraqi police soldier moves toward the front line during fighting last month against militants in western Mosul.

An Iraqi police soldier moves toward the front line during fighting last month against militants in western Mosul.

Grinding battle in Iraq takes toll on police

MOSUL, Iraq On the western side of Mosul, much of the fighting against Islamic State militants takes place between houses so close that they almost touch. Snipers fire from roofs and through holes blasted into outer walls.

Seen through these holes, this part of Iraqs second-largest city is a landscape of half-collapsed buildings, burned-out cars and rubbish-strewn streets. Helicopters hover and barricades of sandbags block the streets.

This front line near the old city is where police officer Mayser Suleyman Karim marked his 33rd birthday with the rest of his unit.

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The Islamic State extremists who took over the city in 2014 were driven out of eastern Mosul by Iraqs elite counterterrorism force in January. Much of the fighting in the citys western districts, however, has been done by the heavily militarized federal police force.

During a pause in the battle, Mayser recalled that he had joined the force in the aftermath of the mosque bombing in Samarra on Feb. 22, 2006. Thats when suspected al Qaeda militants blew up the al-Askari shrine, one of the holiest in Shiite Islam, starting a wave of sectarian violence in which thousands died.

It has been a long time now 10 years. No, 11 years actually. Im tired, Mayser said.

For how long can you keep doing this? he asked. Your joints start to hurt, movement is difficult, cannot run. ... Its not about being scared, Im just getting tired. My body is getting tired.

Part of the police units work in western Mosul involves manning checkpoints and interacting with civilians, some of whom remain in the area despite the fighting.

Many police are instinctively wary: They come from distant parts of Iraq, know little of Mosul and suspect that militants or their supporters might have blended into the population. Security forces have been hit by suicide attacks from the militants.

According to a terrain analysis done by the United Nations, there is about 2 times more destruction in western Mosul than in the eastern half, and the extremists have not been fully driven out of the west yet.

Government artillery units also pour vast amounts of fire into the parts of the city under Islamic State control. Air strikes target snipers, sometimes bringing down several buildings in the hunt for a single militant.

It is hard to be sure how many civilians have been killed or wounded since the battle for western Mosul began nearly two months ago.

The U.N. said at least 300 people have been killed, while the Nineveh provincial health department believes the real number could be closer to 1,000.

Mstyslav Chernov and Felipe Dana are Associated Press writers.

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Grinding battle in Iraq takes toll on police - SFGate