U.S. military: ISIS leaders fleeing Mosul

With Iraqi forces coming from the south and the Kurdish peshmerga to the east, Islamic State leaders are fleeing Mosul, Iraq, the U.S. military says.

Gen. Gary Volesky says there's been movement out of Mosul, and "indications that leaders have left," although it's unclear where Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the head of ISIS, is at the moment; some believe he remains in Mosul, while others say he left and is in a northern Iraqi city, BBC News reports. It's thought that 5,000 ISIS fighters are still in Mosul, once the second largest city in Iraq. "A lot of foreign fighters we expect to stay, because they're not going to be able to exfiltrate as easily as some of the local fighters, or the local leadership, so we expect there to be a fight," Volesky said.

Mosul has been under ISIS control since 2014, and is the terror group's final stronghold in Iraq. The operation to retake Mosul began Monday, with forces making their way through villages on the way to the city. It could take months to liberate Mosul, but "make no doubt, the Iraqi security forces have the momentum," Volesky said. The U.N. expects 200,000 civilians will flee Mosul, and refugee camps are being built in the south, east, and north of the city. Already, 5,000 refugees have made their way to a camp over the border in Syria, Save the Children says, and 1,000 are waiting to enter.

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