Loading ...KHAZER, Iraq (AP) — Iraqi and Kurdish forces backed by U.S.-led airstrikes launched coordinated military operations early Monday as the long-awaited fight to wrest the northern city of Mosul from Islamic State fighters got underway. But the battle is likely to be long and it was unclear when the troops would enter the city itself.
The fate of more than a million civilians trapped inside Mosul will also be critical as the battle intensifies in the days and weeks ahead amid concerns that IS could use them as human shields.