KHAZIR, Iraq: As a major Iraqi offensive moved ever closer to Mosul on Wednesday, Jihadists with the Islamic State group have started shaving their beards and changing hideouts, residents said. Recent advances on the eastern front have brought elite Iraqi forces to within five kilometers of Mosul, and residents reached by AFP said the jihadists seemed to be preparing for an assault on the city itself. About 3,000 to 5,000 IS fighters are believed to be inside Mosul alongside more than a million trapped civilians. “I saw some Daesh (IS) members and they looked completely different from the last time I saw them,” eastern Mosul resident Abu Saif said. Tens of thousands of Iraqi fighters have been advancing on Mosul from the south, east and north.

Source: Manila Times October 27, 2016 14:17 UTC