The fight for Mosul continues, with the last bridge in the city destroyed by an airstrike

It was made as an attempt to stop the transfer of reinforcements.

(Image credit: Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

published 28 December 2016

In an attempt to keep the Islamic State from moving reinforcements across Mosul, Iraq, the city's last remaining bridge was destroyed on Monday.

ISIS captured Mosul in June 2014, and the battle to take it back began four months ago. The Tigris River flows through Mosul, and there were once five bridges spanning the waterway; all of them have been hit by airstrikes in order to keep ISIS from using them. The bridge was built after World War I by the British during their occupation, and the government of Iraq will replace it when ISIS "has been defeated," U.S. Air Force Col. John Dorrian, spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition, told The Washington Post.

Mosul is the second-largest city in Iraq, and the lack of bridges could make it more difficult for residents to escape; over the past four months, more than 60,000 people have fled the fighting.