Iraqi army drops leaflets over Mosul in preparation for offensive
None
BAGHDAD - The Iraqi army dropped tens of thousands of leaflets over Mosul before dawn on Sunday, warning residents that an offensive to recapture their city from Islamic State was in its final stages of preparation, according to a military statement in Baghdad.
The leaflets carried several messages, one of them assuring the population that advancing army units and air strikes "will not target civilians" and another telling them to avoid known locations of Islamic State militants.
The assault on Mosul, the last city still under control of the ultra-hardline Islamic State in Iraq, could begin this month, according to Iraqi government and military officials.
