U. S. aircraft to block ISIL militants fleeing Mosul in Iraq

The U. S.- led coalition has developed plans to target Islamic State militants from the air if they attempt to escape the Iraqi city of Mosul and head west toward Syria, as Iraqi ground forces close in on the city from several sides, a top U. S. general said Monday.

“This is all about getting after ( the Islamic State) and setting up an opportunity where, should they try to escape, we have a built- in mechanism to kill them as they are departing,” said Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Harrigian, commander of U. S. air forces in the Middle East.

Blocking militants from escaping has been a key challenge as U. S.- backed Iraqi and Syrian ground forces have retaken towns and cities from the Islamic State. Hundreds of militants have managed to slip away.

The Pentagon has acknowledged there is no simple solution to prevent militants from grabbing civilian hostages or simply escaping in small numbers.

But the coalition is beefing up surveillance, and Iraq’s government is encouraging civilians to stay put and avoid trying to flee, lessening the likelihood they will be grabbed as human shields.

Islamic State fighters have typically attempted to inflict heavy casualties on Iraqi and Syrian opposition forces before abandoning their positions and escaping.

In the Mosul campaign, Harrigian said military planners are focused on the western approaches of the city, which are not as well defended as the other sides.

The western approaches are not completely open. Shiite militias are moving into positions there and have said they will drive the Islamic State from Tal Afar, a town west of Mosul on the road to Raqqa, Syria, the de facto capital for the militant group. The militias could act as a screening force to capture the Islamic State fighters if they attempt to head toward Raqqa.

But the Shiite militias present a political problem. The U. S.- led coalition said it would only support forces under control of the Iraqi central government. Many Shiite militias are influenced or controlled by Iran.

Plans for the Mosul offensive, which began Oct. 17, included a route to allow civilians to escape from the city and avoid its total destruction in case the Islamic State has nowhere to turn and tries tomake a last stand.

“They don’t want to besiege the city and prevent civilians from escaping,” said Jennifer Cafarella, an analyst at the Institute for the Study ofWar.

Such a plan also risks allowing some militants to escape to Raqqa, the next campaign objective.

AHMAD AL- RUBAYE, AFP/ GETTY IMAGES Shiite fighters drive toward the village of UmmSijan, south ofMosul, Iraq, onMonday during Iraqi forces’ operations to recapture the main hub city from the Islamic State.