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Thousands of IS gunmen positioned in Mosul -- coalition

BAGHDAD, July 24 (KUNA) -- Some 5,000-10,000 members of the militant group, the Islamic State (IS), are entrenched in northern city Mosul, the next prospected target for the Iraqi Army.
Spokesman of the international coalition Christopher Garver said at a news conference in the Iraqi capital today that the he expected the number to dwindle to 5,000-6,000 once the operation to liberate the city gets underway.
Garver added that the estimated number of civilians in the city is in the range of 500,000 to one million, less than the government estimate of two million.
He put total number of coalition troops currently deployed in Iraq at 7,000, in addition to thousands others operating aboard warships and aircraft carriers cruising the Middle East seas.
The spokesman elaborated saying number of the American troops in Iraq has reached 560. They will take charge of renovating the recently-liberated air base south of Mosul.
The coalition forces have trained up to 23,750 Iraqi security personnel including members of anti-terrorism squads, the police and the army, Garver said.
The Baghdad Government, in coordination with the international coalition, is working to craft plans for freeing Mosul from the militant movement, the IS. (end) ah.rk