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Iraq minister says ISIL leaders, families flee Mosul
Iraq’s Defense Minister Khalid al-Obeidi has said that Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) leaders and their families have sold their belongings and ran away fled Mosul as Iraqi forces close in on the northern city.

Iraqi forces are conducting operations to set the stage for an assault on Mosul, the country’s second city that has been held by ISIL since June 2014, but the final push to retake it is likely still months away.

“A number of the families... and leaders of [ISIL] in Mosul, they and their families sold their belongings and withdrew towards Syria,” whose border west of the city, Obeidi told Iraqiya state television.

Some also sought to infiltrate towards Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region, located north and east of Mosul, Obeidi said during an interview which was broadcast on July 30 night.
That's a bad idea. They ain't from 'round thar and ev'ryone's going to know it...
Mosul is the last city held by ISIL in Iraq, but retaking it poses a major challenge, and the operation could unleash a humanitarian crisis unless plans are made for people who would likely flee the fighting. The Red Thingy Cross has said it believes that up to a million Iraqis could be displaced in the coming months by fighting against ISIL, including the operation to recapture Mosul.
If the civilians have remained after this long in a Mosul under ISIL rule, there's a reason why. Sure, some might just have been stuck, but a fair number might be happy with ISIL rule. I won't have much sympathy for them...
ISIL overran large areas north and west of Baghdad in 2014, but has since lost significant ground to Iraqi forces backed by U.S.-led air strikes, training and other assistance.
Posted by: Steve White 2016-08-01
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=463516