End of Mosul battle is imminent, US-led coalition says
June 30 2017 07:07

Iraqi forces are locked in an intense battle for the final few blocks of western Mosul still under ISIS control

The capture of Mosul is imminent, but the battle remains "a difficult fight," with days -- rather than weeks to go coalition spokesman Col. Ryan Dillon said Thursday from Baghdad, confirming Iraqi forces had seized the remains of an iconic mosque and minaret

Only a couple of hundred" ISIS fighters remained in Mosul earlier this week the coalition said.

Lt. Gen. Talib Shaghati, head of Iraq's Counter Terrorism Service, told CNN that ISIS stragglers in Mosul will be confronted, with capture within a few days

Once ISIS has been ousted he said, explosives in the area must be cleared so civilians can return

Then there is the challenge of dealing with the terror group elsewhere in Iraq ISIS still controls cities in Kirkuk, Nineveh and Anbar provinces including Hawija, Tal Afar, Qaim https://www.thebaghdadpost.com/en/story/13765/End-of-Mosul-battle-is-imminent-US-led-coalition-saysAna