. just had a long call from general mattis and john i know is very happy to know that, he knows very well than anybody we re doing very well in iraq. our soldiers are fighting and fighting like never before and the results are very, very good. i want to let everyone know. a rare public comment from the president on the fight against isis in iraq. mr. trump s upbeat assessment coming in the wake of an air strike that killed over 100 civilians in western mosul. iraqi military blames the u.s.-led coalition. listen to general strength townsend the top u.s. commander. the coalition likely did play a role in the tragedy while pointing a finger at isis. right in that area it s unlikely but because we struck in that area there s a fair chance that we did it. my initial assessment is that we probably had a role in this.
characterization? reporter: i would say the iraqi troops fighting like never before in iraq. they are on the ground and in the front lines. the role the u.s. is playing in terms of bringing in their various different enablers, the air strikes, various different assets that the u.s. is bringing has been very isn t. iraqis acknowledge they couldn t do this alone. it s worth noting the kind of fight that s transpiring in mosul is unlike anything the u.s. military faced during its more than eight decade long occupation of iraq. it s arguably one of the toughest battles in modern history because not only your trying dislodge an enemy like isis that s incredibly sophisticated, complicated, that has no rules of engagements, that does take populations as human shields, that does hold civilians at gunpoint in their homes while using their room tops as fighting positions.
here s what i don t know. what i don t know is were they gathered there by the enemy? general townsend said the type of munition used in the strike should not have collapsed the entire building where all those civilians perished. let s go live to erbil, iraq and bring in cnn international correspondent who is just in mosul. the president says we re doing very well in iraq. what do the iraqis say about that characterization. reporter: it s a simplification. are the iraqi security forces backed by the u.s. coalition slowly and painfully making advances against isis in mosul? yes. of course they are. but it has come at an astrono c
illegals you know, taking all of the people from wherever they come from. i ll see her and meet her and i ll respect her. i like her. i think it was a mistake. people make mistakes. i think that was a very big mistake. reporter: okay. a lot of different subjects. on iraq. the iran nuclear deal. he wasn t clear about precisely what he would do about that. he has definitely criticized it in the past. on syria, critical of russia. he said it was very bad thing that they did and it has led to humanitarian issues and crises. he said he might restrict europeans entering the united states. that also is unclear. said he would tighten borders. u.s. borders. no surprise there. on brexit. the uk pulling out of the eu. he said that will end up just
we heard a series of rockets. earlier on there was other artille artillery. we heard at least four airstrikes. reportedly those airstrikes also going on throughout the night and i think this is what you re seeing chris is an attempt to kind of wear down the enemy. to exhaust the militants who have been in control of this area behind me for more than two years now. towards the south of mosul, we re sort of on the eastern side, towards the south you are seeing some pretty heavy clashes taking place between the iraqi army and isis militants. in a christian city near the town of nimrod which is an ancient site. it is kinetic and active there. iraqi forces are saying at least 14 villages have been liberated. and the understanding here on the ground is this is going to take some time. this is a marathon and not a sprint. yes we ve heard that as well. that s an important reminder of how long this will take weeks if not months.