Iraqis fighting ISIS alongside U.S. troops criticize new ban on entering U.S.
MOSUL, Iraq -- Wednesday, America’s war against ISIS came to a dead stop on the banks of the Tigris River that slices Mosul in half.
ISIS holds the high ground on the western side of the river firing constant mortars towards Iraqi troops on the other.
Maj. Arkan Hashm said ISIS was launching the rounds from a school.
Soldiers showed CBS News a house hat ISIS fighters had recently fled. In an upstairs bedroom laid forbidden toys that ISIS militants had confiscated.
With Iraqis and American soldiers fighting a common enemy, one resident said he couldn’t understand why President Trump might tighten restrictions on Iraqis traveling to the U.S.
“How is this our fault?” he said. “Why would you ban us? We are the victims. In fact, American ISIS fighters have come here.”
Troops displayed an SUV that militants had stripped, ready to be turned into a car bomb, the most feared weapon in the ISIS arsenal.
Huge craters mark the streets in areas that saw the worst of the fighting; U.S. and coalition airstrikes specifically targeted major intersections in order to disrupt the path of suicide car bombs.
Gen. Ali Al Lami said he has lost many men, but he’s disappointed that President Trump might make it near impossible for his soldiers to start a new life in the U.S.
“If America bans Muslims, it’s not the right thing to do,” he said. “America is a multi-ethnic and religious nation, a country of freedom.”
The general also said that the next and final phase against ISIS may be the toughest. It’s the old part of the city, the streets are too narrow for some military vehicles and there are still around 750,000 civilians trapped there.
