Mosul field hospitals struggle to treat casualties

World Today

Mideast Iraq MosulA Iraqi man wounded in a car bomb attack in the liberated district of Gogjali in Mosul is attended by a nurse in a hospital in Irbil, Iraq, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2016.(AP Photo/Manu Brabo)

Iraqi security forces say they have recaptured nearly three-fourths of eastern Mosul from ISIL militants. But the gains have come at a heavy price.

CGTN’s Toby Muse reports. Follow Toby Muse on Twitter @tobymuse

Civilians are often caught in the crossfire, and field hospitals struggle to cope.

In one of three field hospitals in Mosul that tend to the wounded as Iraqi forces and ISIL battle for control of the city, wounded soldiers and civilians are treated by military medics and a handful of foreign volunteers.

Over the course of the day, there are about twice as many civilians brought in as soldiers.

Some are dead on arrival. Some die on the operating table.

Shoes are left behind, often from those who didn’t make it.

From here, you can track the progress of the war in Mosul. At first, the civilians are coming from the neighborhood of Al Quds.

Then we receive word that Al Quds has been liberated. Soon the wounded are coming in from the next field of battle, a neighborhood called Al Karama.

With all the injured children, it can feel like Mosul’s very future is under attack.