UKC

Presumably most reasonable people are hoping for the jihadists to be driven out of Mosul, their last stronghold in Iraq.

I fear it will be a long and bloody fight in which many innocents will again loose their lives.

In reply to FesteringSore:

It'll be interesting to see if Daesh stay or try and slip away....there'll be plenty of pour souls in the crossfire but I suspect that heavy artillery and air strikes will be the plan for some time...

If the exit routes are secure the foreign jihadi's should have no chance but some of the local extremists will blend in...

In reply to abr1966:


My guess is they will intentionally not close all the exit routes. If they leave ISIL the option of running away to Syria it will reduce their own casualties, reduce damage to Mosul and the amount of reconstruction they will need to pay for and avoid news footage of civilians getting bombed.

It is easier for the Iraqis and Americans if the final confrontation with ISIL happens in Raqua.

In reply to tom_in_edinburgh:

Yep that may the plan....although there will be some apprehension that the foreign jihadists will slip through the net! It'll be interesting to see if the locals who are forced or paid by Daesh to fight switch allegiance at some point....there could be some serious 'internal' issues in Mosul when the bombardment is ramped up......being under artillery for days on end does bad things to the mind...