Jihadis panic and set oil wells ablaze as troops advance on Mosul, ISIS jihadis’ last holdout in Iraq
FRENZIED IS militants set oil wells ablaze around the Iraq city to obscure themselves from drones and warplanes' view
A MAN takes a selfie surrounded by flames and smoke during the fight to drive IS out of Mosul.
Crazed jihadis torched oil wells around the Iraq city to hide from warplanes and drones.
The man was stood amid the burning fields and fierce fighting in Qayyarah, around 35 miles south of the city.
Iraqi special forces and Kurdish Peshmerga have launched a major assault to reclaim Mosul, which has been occupied by the Islamic State since 2014.
They are supported by airstrikes from a US-led coalition including RAF jets and Reaper drones.
On day four of the battle to retake Mosul, the 30,000 Kurdish and Iraqi soldiers advanced to within six miles of the city.
They began raids of IS-occupied villages around 13 miles from the city at dawn. Peshmerga troops, believed to have been supported by British special forces, seized the frontline village of Narawan in under an hour.
Terrorists used snipers, roadside bombs and suicide car bombs in an unsuccessful attempt to push back the attack.
They said the city was "a lost cause" for ISIS. One said: "It's the end of days for them."
French President Francois Hollande warned ISIS troops must not be allowed to flee to Raqqa, the group's main stronghold in Syria, where they would be able to regroup.
The group has also reportedly changed tactics, trimming their beards and changing their style of dress to look more like the civilian population - presumably to ensure their safety if the city is overrun.
The whereabouts of IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is not known.
Thousands of residents have fled Mosul for refugee camps in Syria to escape the conflict. The UN expects 200,000 to seek refuge outside the city in the coming weeks.
Those still inside the city report they are running out of basic supplies, but jihadis will not let them leave.
Meanwhile Iraqi PM Haider al-Abadi said the mission was progressing faster than planned.
He hailed cooperation between Kurdish and Iraqi troops, who were "fighting harmoniously together" to out IS fanatics from the city.