LOC22:25
19:25 GMT
WASHINGTON, Oct 28 (KUNA) -- The US-led coalition tackling the so-called Islamic State (IS) group said on Friday that Iraqi forces are "pausing" their advance on Mosul to make sure their rear flanks are clear of the group's fighters.
The pause is occurring "on several axes," the counter-IS coalition's Operation Inherent Resolve spokesman Col. John Dorrian told a briefing.
"We think it'll just be a couple days, and they'll be back on the march toward Mosul," he said.
"The Iraqis are an adaptive force, and so what they've seen is some tactics, techniques and procedures by Daesh that have lead them to believe it's in their interest," he said using the Arabic acronym of the IS group.
Iraqi forces "are still largely on plan," he added, and are about 10-to-20kms away from Mosul.
On the role of the coalition, he said a recent strike targeted a convoy of around 40-45 vehicles belonging to the group which had planned to abduct many civilians to use as human shields.
The human shields are being used by the group "to make the Iraqi Security Forces' advance more difficult. We were able to attack those vehicles before they could take the civilians," he said.
Separately, he said that the Kurdish fighters are "following their agreement" with the Iraqi government "that they would stay around 20kms outside of Mosul and hold that area.
"There's been very good cooperation between the two sides and everyone's honored the agreements," he said. (pickup previous)
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