Iraqi army cuts off last 'Islamic State' supply line to west Mosul

[Nairaland]

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Iraqi forces have cut off the last supply route into Mosul, effectively trapping the militants of the so-called "Islamic State" (IS) group. Hundreds of thousands of civilians remained trapped in the city.

Brett McGurk, the US envoy to the anti-IS coalition said on Sunday that fighters with the Islamist group were "trapped. Just last night, the 9th Iraqi army division ... cut off the last road out of Mosul,"
"Any of the fighters who are left in Mosul, they're going to die there," McGurk said. "We are very committed to not just defeating them in Mosul, but making sure these guys cannot escape."
After "fully liberating" the city's east from IS in January, US-backed Iraqi forces moved onto western Mosul, with a renewed push in March.

Mosul's liberation is increasingly in sight albeit with increasingly difficult fighting ahead," McGurk said, adding that Iraqi forces were retaking "some of the most difficult ground that we knew would have to be reclaimed. They're doing this in a dense urban environment facing a suicidal enemy that's using civilians as shields."