A rescue mission on the outskirts of Mosul, Iraq saved the lives of a dog and her puppies who were buried alive in a military operation against the Islamic State. According to the BBC, the dog family was buried by the destruction of Islamic State tunnels.

The BBC reported, “a dog and her puppies were buried alive when a series of tunnels collapsed near Mosul. BBC producer Joan Soley rescued the puppies with the help of Iraqi special forces.” BBC senior producer Joan Soley did the honors of pulling the dogs out of the collapsed tunnel. The latest Breitbart News report on Mosul notes that ISIS has been challenged on the outskirts of the city: “Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) terrorists executed nine fellow jihadis who fled battle by tossing them in burning oil trenches used to impede the vision of U.S.-backed Iraqi military troops fighting to push the militants out Iraq’s second-largest city Mosul, reports the Arabic-language Al Sumaria News, according to various translations.”

Mosul has been in the control of the Islamic State for over two years. This week, the United States, Kurdish forces, the Iraqi government, and Shiite militias have endeavored to take the city back. Although Kurdish forces have entered the battle and were in many cases successful, the Iraqi army has had a hard time building on the Peshmerga advances.

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has announced that the operation is in an “ advanced stage “: “ Following the Kurdish Peshmerga announcement Tuesday that they had completed the mission Baghdad approved for them, however, the Iraqi army has stumbled on its way to the urban center.”