Iraqi forces and Kurdish peshmerga fighters are inching closer to Mosul, Iraq, where U.S. officials say Islamic State militants are using civilians as human shields.
The operation to recapture Mosul, once the second largest city in Iraq and the last ISIS stronghold in the country, began Monday, and the U.S.-backed coalition said ISIS has fled from 10 villages on the road to Mosul. Government troops are 19 miles to the south of Mosul, while the peshmerga are 25 miles to the east. It's believed that 5,000 ISIS fighters remain in Mosul, and residents still inside the city told Reuters that the militants are blocking people from leaving and in some cases directing them to buildings they believe will be targeted by airstrikes.
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