Battle begins to expel ISIS from Mosul

(CNSNews.com) – The most important battle yet in the campaign to dislodge ISIS jihadists from territory in Iraq and Syria began early Monday, when Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced the offensive to retake Mosul was underway.
Iraq's second-largest city, seized by ISIS more than two years ago, offers a major challenge to the U.S.-trained Iraqi army and Kurdish peshmerga fighters who comprise the majority of the 30,000-strong force arrayed against the terrorists.