The Islamic State is facing its “end game” in Mosul, the defence secretary has said.
Sir Michale Fallon said the Iraqi military had made strong progress in pushing the terror group out of the Iraqi city, which fell to IS in 2014 and was the location where IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi announced his so-called caliphate.
The RAF are one of a number of nations involved in the air campaign against IS targets in Mosul, and Fallon said British warplanes had successfully hot more than 700 targets in the campaign to date, with the RAF working at its highest operational tempo in 25 years.
IS is also losing ground in Syria, where US-backed Kurdish forces have surrounded the group’s defacto capital of Raqqa.
Fallon was speaking before the Nato meeting, where he is expected to confirm the UK will send a further 85 troops to Afghanistan on training duties, joining the 500 British military personnel already in the country.
He said:
“Keeping Afghanistan from becoming a safe haven for transnational terrorists helps to keep our streets safe too.
“That’s why we’re stepping up our support to the government of Afghanistan and its defence forces, helping them to expand security and develop their armed forces.”
Last month, Afghanistan suffered one of its most deadly attacks in recent years, when a car bomb exploded in the Kanbul’s diplomatic quarter, killing 90. No group claimed responsibility for the bombing.
