Iraqi Army kills 1,000 jihadis as battle to retake Mosul from ISIS enters second phase
OVER 1,000 jihadis have been killed as ISIS is hit by the second phase of a nine-week operation by the Iraqi Army to purge Mosul of extremists.
While the Iraqi Army, working with the Kurdish Peshmerga, have only managed to secure a quarter of the besieged city, officials are confident the operation is on track.
The Iraqi Army, which has lost hundreds of warriors in the fighting, started advancing on the centre of Mosul on Thursday.
US commanders announced their soldiers would support the battle, along with American and RAF warplanes.
An estimated 3,500 ISIS fighters remain in Mosul, some of whom are believed to be press ganged into joining the extremists out of fears for their lives.
Mosul is widely considered ISIS’ second most important base, after their stronghold in Raqqa, Syria.
As the Iraqi Army enters the second phase of the attack plan, a group linked to ISIS has called for New Year’s Eve celebrations across the world to be turned into “bloody horror movies”.
Terrorism watchdog SITE Intel Group reports the Nashir Media Foundation has released propaganda urging lone wolf sympathisers to carry out attacks, and warned revellers to “prepare [their] coffins”.
The call to action comes following the arrest of a man in connection to a New Year’s Eve terror threat.
The 40-year-old was arrested after arriving in Sydney, Australia, on a flight from London.
Police acted on a tip they had received from a member of the public.
The dramatic arrest comes after several other suspects were taken into custody over suspicions they were preparing New Year’s Eve terror attacks in Moscow, on orders from ISIS in Syria.
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368.