Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain Jeff Davis said IS had for weeks kept Mosul's estimated population of 1.5 million from escaping, with the start of the offensive offering them no respite.
The Islamic State has also seen a decline in its primary revenue sources
Boualem Khoukhi's early strike and an eighth goal of the tournament from striker Almoez Ali gave Qatar a 2-0 halftime lead with Hassan Al-Haydos and Hamid Ismail completing the rout in the last 10 minutes.
After a month-long buildup, the last urban stronghold of Islamic State in Iraq has for several days been almost completely surrounded by a 30,000-strong force.
We bring you a collection of some of the best photographs taken this week by ace photographers.
Standing amid the rubble left by the now defeated Islamic State terrorists in Iraq, Pope Francis on Sunday said that hope is 'more powerful than hatred and peace more powerful than war'.
Novak Djokovic extended his unbeaten start to the season to 15 matches as he swatted aside German veteran Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-3 6-1 with ease on Wednesday to reach the Dubai Tennis Championships quarter-finals.
The Islamic State rakes in over US $1 million (Rs 6.4 crore) per day in extortion and taxation and the dreaded terror group has enough assets to cover its expenses despite falling oil prices, according to a media report.
Nico Rosberg stormed to his sixth pole position in a row and denied Mercedes team mate Lewis Hamilton a landmark 50th in Formula One's season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Saturday.
Monaco's Leclerc, who had started on pole position for the first time, lost power with 10 laps to go while leading and finished third with an extra point for the fastest lap.
Considering that Qatar is a trusted ally of Washington for decades, it is expected to be a steady influence on the Taliban leadership, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'The bigger challenge and dilemma for Pakistan would be if the US and Saudi Arabia go full throttle against Iran and enforce regime change in Tehran.' 'That would be bad news for Pakistan, especially with the current instability in Balochistan,' notes Brigadier Narender Kumar (retd).
From the Syrian civil war to the Ukrainian crisis to the terror unleashed by the dreaded Islamic State, there was no lack of news in 2014. In this five-part series, rediff.com presents a selection of the year's most enduring moments year from around the world.
The Global Terrorism Index 2017 released by the Australia-based Institute for Economics and Peace provides a comprehensive summary of the key global trends and patterns in terrorism over the last 17 years in covering the period from the beginning of 2000 to the end of 2016. According to the report, this is the second consecutive year, deaths from terrorism declined. Over the two years there was a decrease of 22 per cent compared to the peak of terror activity in 2014. Terrorism deaths have fallen significantly in Syria, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria. However, Islamic State defied this positive trend with over 9,000 deaths, primarily in Iraq and increased activity in OECD countries.
Images of the events that shaped the world last week.
It is time to throw an outer ring around India's national security by proactively engaging in areas immediately outside our neighbourhood. Such a ring will not only insulate India from emerging threats, but also create new leverage in securing our own neighbourhood, says Nitin Pai.
Images of the events that shaped the world in March.
We sorted through countless photographs taken around the world to come up with the top photos of 2019. Together these images tell the story of the year -- capturing moments of hope and heartbreak, triumph and tragedy.
While Iraq and Afghanistan top the Global Terrorism Index 2014 as the most terror-affected nations, India has been ranked number six.
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