Iraqi forces cut off Islamic State’s last supply line to Mosul, setting stage for bloody end game
Forces battling the Islamic State group in northern Iraq have cut off the jihadists’ last supply line from Mosul to Syria, trapping them in the city for a bloody last stand.
A day after the last major bridge over the Tigris in Mosul was bombed by the US-led coalition against IS, elite forces fighting in the east of the city also reported significant progress.
To the west of Mosul, Hashed al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilisation) paramilitary forces made a push to cut the road between two towns on the route heading to Syria, security officials said on Wednesday.
“Hashed forces have cut off the Tal Afar-Sinjar road,” senior Hashed commander Abu Mahdi al-Mohandis said on social media.
A Kurdish security official said that Hashed forces had linked up with other anti-IS forces, including Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) fighters, in three villages in the area.
