People watch as safety workers try to extinguish fire from a burning oil field in Qayara, south of Mosul, Iraq, Thursday, Nov. 3, 2016. The day’s fighting has been the most intense urban combat in Mosul since the Iraqi offensive began over two weeks ago to drive IS from the city, Iraq’s second-largest. The Islamic State group is fighting to hold Mosul as Iraqi forces and allied Kurdish troops squeeze in from all directions with U.S.-led coalition support, mostly from airstrikes and reconnaissance. When IS seized Mosul and other territory in 2014, the much larger Iraqi military had been neglected and demoralized by corruption. Iraqi forces have made uneven progress in closing in on the city since the operation began on Oct. 17.

Source: Washington Post November 04, 2016 04:26 UTC