IS ambushes Iraqi cops

IRBIL: Dozens of Islamic State militants wearing suicide vests penetrated Iraqi police lines in Mosul yesterday, retaking ground in a large-scale counterattack and sending residents fleeing.

Starting at about 3am, the militants launched seven car bombs at the front lines south of the Old City, their last remaining foothold, said Lieutenant-Colonel Hussein al-Lami, a federal police commander. Simultaneously 25 fighters wearing suicide vests attacked them from behind their lines. The militants had sneaked down the Tigris River and attacked with the assistance of “sleeper cells”.