Forces battling the ISIS in northern Iraq cut off the jihadists' last supply line from Mosul to Syria on Wednesday, 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.
“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 told AFP that Hashed forces had linked up with other anti-ISIS forces, including PKK fighters, in three villages. The town of Tal Afar itself, which lies about 50 km west of Mosul, is still under the control of ISIS.