The Battle for Mosul: What's Next? 3 maps explaining the planned offensive against the Isis stronghold in Iraq

Israel to supply Jordan in $10bn gas deal as Netanyahu seeks closer ties with Sunni Arab nations
In landmark deal US-Israeli consortium agrees to provide 300 cubic feet of gas per day over 15 year period.


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The Battle for Mosul: Isis will fight to the last man to hold its greatest prize
Haider al-Abadi faces huge challenge winning back the faith of Iraq's Sunnis

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With the battle for Mosul looming, Peshmerga leaders sense they are now on a path that leads beyond the defeat of ISIS, if not yet to the ultimate destination of Kurdish independence.

Until then, they are cooperating with the Iraqi government. Kurdish, Iraqi, and U.S. officials met Monday in Erbil for the latest negotiations, which a coalition spokesman described as a major step toward Mosul. U.S. leaders have said that operation could begin as soon as the middle of October; surrounding towns already are being liberated.

“We are ready,” said Omer, who also goes by Jamal Mohammed, or Jamal Eminki. “If we liberate Mosul, Daesh will be finished,” he said, using the preferred derogatory acronym for the Islamic State.

On Thursday, Iraqi forces pushed into the center of Shirqat, a town south of Mosul and Erbil along the Tigris river. It lies near Qayyarah West, the Iraqi airfield that has become a key military base for massing U.S., Iraqi, and coalition forces that include French artillery units. U.S. commanders in Baghdad have placed a media blackout on the base, as they have over much of the American combat experience here. But the U.S. presence has been vital to the Peshmerga’s success against ISIS, according to several officers, from a platoon commander to the chief of staff, who spoke with Defense One this week at the Bnaslawa training camp and in ministry offices in Erbil.




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US forces nearly ready to help Iraq push to retake Mosul


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Signs of panic and rebellion in the heart of Islamic State’s self-proclaimed caliphate
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Battle for Mosul: Rival forces band together to fight common enemy – but then what?
Shia militia, Sunni Arab tribesmen, Kurdish fighters and US special forces prepare to retake Mosul from Isis.

[link to www.ibtimes.co.uk]