TERROR CAMP IN TUNNELS

Troops find Isis hideout

A VAST underground training camp for jihadis has been uncovered near the frontline Iraqi city of Mosul.

The complex, in a disused train tunnel in a hill overlooking Mosul, was found by Iraqi troops battling to liberate the city.

The tunnel was blocked off when Isis overran the area in 2014 and converted into a massive commando assault course.

Iraqi forces were tipped off by locals about the camp after regaining control of the hillside in the early stages of a push to drive Isis out of Mosul’s western half.

The tunnel is 23ft high and 16ft wide and was once lit by arc lights, away from prying eyes and coalition spy planes.

Its walls are adorned with painted Isis slogans.

Observing the obstacle course, soldier Kadhem al-Gharrawi, a member of an elite Iraqi unit, said: “Their training is similar to ours. It’s tough training for special forces.”

Near the start of the assault course lie several backpacks full of sand, which were worn by recruits to weigh them down as they went over the obstacles.

After coming off a slide, recruits would have swung along monkey bars and then thrown themselves flat to crawl under barbed wire.

A sign on the wall reads: “We will prevail despite the global Crusader alliance.”

The battle for west Mosul was still raging on yesterday as US-backed Iraqi forces captured the city’s key al-Hurriya bridge, which leads to the Isis-held old city centre from the south.