DAMASCUS, SYRIA (9:05 P.M.) – Hashd Al-Sha’abi (Popular Mobilization Units) had another successful day in the western countryside of Mosul, liberating more than 18km of territory from the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS).

To top the day off, Hashd Al-Sha’abi managed to liberate the strategic Tal ‘Afar Airport in western Mosul, killing a large number of Islamic State terrorists in the process of this advance.

As the map above illustrates, the Iraqi Armed Forces are on the verge of flanking Mosul from several axes, leaving the Islamic State terrorists with only one way out of the city.

With their latest advance near Mosul, the Iraqi Armed Forces could make another major push north from Tal ‘Afar and cutoff the Islamic State’s last exit route from the provincial capital.

The islamic State’s leader and self-proclaimed caliph “Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi” claimed last week during a recording that his forces will not abandon Mosul; if true, this will likely be a long winter for the terrorist group.