Bahrain Mirror: The Iran-backed popular mobilization in Iraq said that it arrived on Wednesday to the Kurdish Peshmerga defense lines west of Mosul, adding that this step means encircling the entire city that is under the control of ISIS, and the neighboring city of Tal Afar.

Abu Mahdi Mohandes, a senior leader in the Popular Mobilization forces, said, "The fourth stage of the west Mosul operations ended after we arrived to the Peshmerga defense line toward Sinjar."

He added in statements published on the popular mobilization website, that ISIS still controls the road, which extends to a distance of 60 kilometers between Mosul and Tal Afar.

"ISIS now only has the Tal Afar - Mosul path, and this is what we will try to tackle", Abu Mahdi added, in reference to the Popular Mobilization plan to separate Mosul from Tal Afar.

Arabic Version