Iraqi militia threatens Islamic State's supply route to Syria
An Iraqi Shi'ite militia said on Wednesday it was on the verge of driving ISIS fighters from an air base west of Mosul, a victory which would threaten the Sunni group's supply route from Syria to its last major stronghold in Iraq.
Some ISIS fighters have already pulled out of the Tal Afar base and moved to the town of the same name, said Jafaar Hussaini, a spokesman for Kata'ib Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed group.
"The battle will be finished today," he said.
Should Kata'ib Hezbollah succeed, it would be a significant development in the campaign to recapture Mosul, ISIS's de facto capital since its forces swept through Iraq in 2014 and set up a self-declared caliphate in a swathe of Syria and northern Iraq.
The base lies about 60 km (38 miles) west of Mosul on the main road to Syria and its recapture would endanger ISIS's supply route for Mosul.
But the development could also alarm Turkey, which is wary of Shi'ite involvement in the civil war in Syria.
Kata'ib Hezbollah is a main component of the Popular Mobilisation, a coalition of mainly Shi'ite militias taking part in the battle for Mosul.
While the Shi'ite coalition is fighting Islamic State west of Mosul, regular army and police units are trying to advance from the other sides, backed by Kurdish Peshmerga fighters deployed in the north and the east.
