The Iraqi army is trying to oust ISIS terrorists from the town of Kisarah. This is the next front line
in a military effort to end the spread of ISIS in Mosul.

ISIS is trying to reduce the visibility of on-coming soldiers by burning oil tankers, which shroud the air with smoke. But troops are going ahead despite the black apocalyptic sky, the streets thinned of buildings, torn electric cables, and hot winds.

Now they are just a couple of kilometers from the town centre and approximately 60 kilometres from Mosul. By the end of the year, the army will be able to liberate the second largest region of Iraq, captured LIH 2 years ago. The Iraqi army has made significant progress in the fight to regain Mosul.

Over the past four months, the soldiers methodically moved North through villages and towns. At some point, they reached the Tigris river, and then threw a pontoon bridge, which ISIS tried to blow up.

In July, the troops seized the airbase in the city of Kisarah, the third largest city in Iraq is a big step. Base is a vital vanillacream for Iraqi troops. The airbase and the runway will be cleared of explosives.

General Push al-Jabouri, commander of operations in Iraq, said soldiers feel the weakening of ISIS. First, most suicide attackers were of foreign origin. Now they are a mix of foreigners and locals.

"I think they have a shortage of foreign fighters," he said. But there is uncertainty. Al-Jobouri also wondered whether ISIS to disclose the identities of more foreign fighters, when there's the expected "Battle for Mosul".

The greatest concern of al-Jobouri remains for the civilian population in Mosul - at least 1 million people remain in the grip of an organization that uses civilians as human shields.
sections: Politics, World News, Accidents, Accidents