Iraq: US commits more troop to Mosul

A pincer movement is under way to eventually take the jewel in IS’s Iraqi crown, Mosul, and it will be supported by more than 500 additional US troops. Iraqi troops, with the usual US-led coalition air support, on 9 July captured Qayara airbase (‘Q-West’), 40 miles from Mosul, which will be used as a staging ground for operations to retake the city. IS still occupies the nearby town of Qayara.