IS strikes back in Mosul

Islamic State militants yesterday launched a counterattack in Mosul that reversed days of Iraqi army territorial gains in just a matter of hours.

The setback underscores the fragility of the Iraqi security forces despite years of Us-led coalition training and the instability likely to follow the city’s liberation. The offensive began just after noon, when 50 to 100 IS fighters began firing on units of the Iraqi army’s 16th Division charged with holding the northwest frontline in the Mosul’s Old City. The attack broke through the army’s first line of defence and the rest of its positions soon crumbled.