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US-Led Coalition Reports Sharp Escalation of Airstrikes on Daesh-Held Mosul

© Flickr / U.S. Department of DefenseUS fighter jets in Syria
US fighter jets in Syria - Sputnik International
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The US military reported nearly 200 airstrikes on Iraq’s second largest city of Mosul in the past seven days, an exponential increase given attacks totaled 750 in the past six months, Defense Department spokesman Col. Steve Warren told reporters on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — "Our [US] operational objective is to place pressure across the entire breadth and depth of this battlefield," Warren said.

Pressure, Warren added, creates movement and movement creates additional targets.

Fighters from the al-Qaida linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) marching in Raqqa, Syria - Sputnik International
Up to 30,000 Daesh Fighters Operate in Iraq, Syria - Pentagon
In the past seven days, Warren noted, the US launched 191 strikes on Mosul, compared with 305 in the previous 30 days and 750 in the past six months.

Daesh (Islamic State), which is outlawed in Russia and a number of other countries, seized the northern Iraqi city of 2.5 million in June 2014. Mosul has since become the de facto Iraqi capital of the terrorist group.

The Kurdish media network Rudaw reported earlier this week that US forces are setting up a military unit of Sunni Arab fighters for a future offensive to retake Mosul. In addition, Rudaw reported that Turkey is also training 9,000 fighters for the battle.

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