(17.10.2016) General al-Jubouri claimed that many Isis commanders had already fled. “We have received intelligence reports that their leaders have left Mosul, some to the desert between Syria and Iraq, some to Syria itself,” he said.

“Many of the foreign fighters have left and the bulk of those remaining are Iraqis, with a few foreign fighters among them to stiffen their resolve.”

Coalition and Iraqi officers estimate that Isis has between 4,000 and 8,000 fighters remaining in the city.