[Howell:] Welcome back. In Iraq, November was a particularly bloody month in the fight against ISIS. The U.N. says nearly 2,000 Iraqi troops were killed across the country, nearly triple the number of military casualties reported in October. Almost 1,000 civilians were also killed just last month. For more on these figures and the war against ISIS, CNN producer Salma Abdelaziz joins now live from Irbil. Thank you for being with us this hour. Let's break this down to explain exactly why we're seeing such high casualty numbers.
[Salma Abdelaziz, Cnn Producer:] George, these numbers are staggering, 2,000 soldiers killed, 1,000 civilians killed in just a matter of a month. We're seeing these high numbers now for the first time. The Iraqi army had not provided us with any figures since this conflict began in October. What this paints a picture of is a grueling battle. The Iraqi army has now entered Mosul. They are now fighting house to house to retake that city from ISIS, which is deeply entrenched. We're hearing from the Iraqi army that ISIS has used hundreds of car bombs. They have set up snipers on the rooftops of homes and they're even using residents as civilian shields. And in this densely populated urban environment, U.S. airstrikes can simply not be used as much because they could create more civilian casualties. So it's a very difficult battle now. And we saw firsthand just how that's affecting the civilian population. Just a week ago, we were at a triage point that's just on the outskirts of Mosul. And we saw family after family coming in with shrapnel wounds because mortar rounds from ISIS had landed close to their homes. We saw families fleeing their homes because they said we are caught in the crossfire and we do not feel safe. And this battle is expected to take many more months to come, George. And we can expect to see a high civilian death toll but also a high soldier death toll from the Iraqi military in these many more months to come George.
[Howell:] Salma, I'd like to talk just a bit more about that. You touch on it, the situation with civilians. There are so many people who are just trying to get out of harm's way. Talk to us about the situation that they are dealing with and what it's like to flee, to get out of harm's way, and then to try to find a place where you can get shelter, safety, because it is creating sort of a humanitarian issue.
[Abdelaziz:] Well, George, let me start by explaining to you why this humanitarian issue is the way it is in the first place. When Mosul started, the Baghdad central government asked all the civilians to stay in their homes. That's over 1 million residents. They said please stay put, we're going to fight this fight while you remain at home. What that's meant is that this battle is happening on their doorstep. That means people are exchange gunfire; mortar rounds are landing, as I said earlier, right outside their doors. And on top of that, you also have an issue of services. Half a million residents right now in Mosul have no water, according to the United Nations. When we went to the liberated areas, these are areas that the Iraqi military says are secure and clear of ISIS, there was no running water, there was no power, there was no hospitals nearby to provide medical care to anybody who's been wounded in those mortar strikes. So it's a very bleak picture. And eight agencies in the United Nations say they expect it to get worse as this battle carries on. As we said, it's become very slow. It's become very meticulous. And ISIS has really taken advantage of the fact that it has had two years to prepare for this. And it's really dug itself deep, dug its heels into that civilian population and is using them in the worst possible ways, as we said, as human shields even, to protect themselves. And so this is a great deal of concern for the Iraqi military. They're trying to take as many precautions as they can as they move forward. But as one U.N. official told me, ISIS is not fighting that way. They will do anything they can to protect themselves, to keep themselves alive in Mosul. And that means taking advantage of the civilian population George.
[Howell:] And as you point out, so some have, you know, found a way to get out of harm's way but there are many who are just waiting at home and waiting it out. Salma Abdelaziz, thank you so much for your reporting and we'll stay in touch with you. Outgunned and surrounded, rebels in Aleppo, Syria, say that they have a new alliance to take on regime forces. It appears to be a last- ditch effort, though, aimed at repelling a crushing government assault. Syrian regime forces and their allies have pushed into Eastern Aleppo; backed by airstrikes and artillery, they have encircled rebel positions and are now in control of more than 20 percent of the city's east. CNN's Fred Pleitgen has more now from Damascus.
[Frederik Pleitgen, Cnn Correspondent:] Another day, more violence in Aleppo. The youngest suffering the most, this video from the Syrian civil defense showing rescuers saving a child after a suspected airstrike, the fighting claiming at least 45 lives on Wednesday alone, according to monitoring groups. Over 30,000 people mostly children have been displaced since government forces launched a large scale offensive making sweeping gains in the east of Aleppo, the U.N. says. In Rome, efforts continue to try and broker some sort of truce and the delivery of humanitarian aid to the besieged area, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry meeting Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
[John Kerry, U.s. Secretary Of State:] And so hopefully, if the humanitarian situation can be dealt with in Aleppo more effectively. And if indeed we could create a framework for the passage of people out of Aleppo so that Aleppo itself might be able to be relieved from this agony. That could open up the space to perhaps be able to start some kind of conversation in Geneva.
[Pleitgen:] Even as its air force pounds rebel positions, Russia said it's still committed to a political solution in Syria. SERGEY LAVROV, RUSSIA'S FOREIGN MINISTER, In a desperate effort to fend off Syrian government troops, rebel factions in the besiege areas of Aleppo have announced a new alliance named the Army of Aleppo. But their fight remains desperate in the face of an offensive that is already cost the opposition much of the territory it held in Aleppo for years Frederik Pleitgen, CNN, Damascus.
[Howell:] The fight there continues. This is CNN NEWSROOM. We'll be right back after this.