The battle for Mosul has just begun, but it is already possible to discern that the Islamic State’s (ISIS) fighting methods are very similar— sometimes even identical—to the fighting methods that Hezbollah and Hamas plan to use in the next conflict with Israel.

The comparison between the way ISIS is now fighting the forces attacking it and Hamas and Hezbollah’s future fighting methods is based on declarations made by leaders, public reports of those leaders and their preparation activities on the ground.

The ISIS fighting in Mosul can be described as “defensive guerilla” or “urban guerilla” strategy. Most of the fighting is taking place in constructed areas where the defenders, who are familiar with the area and prepared for fighting, have an advantage, even if the number of fighters he has is very small.

In this context, it is important to mention that the 8,000 ISIS fighters in Mosul and the surrounding villages are being faced by an offensive force made up of elite units comprising the Iraqi army, the Kurdish Peshmerga militia which has recently been armed and trained by the Americans and the Turks, and mixed Shiite and Sunni militias that are fighting alongside the Iraqi government.

Read the full article at YNet.