Assad’s army warns IS not to flee Mosul to Syria

The Syrian army command says anyone who tries to cross the border from Iraq into Syria will be faced with force.

The command says it believes the United States and Saudi Arabia would try to guarantee safe passages for fighters of the Islamic State group fleeing from the northern Iraqi city of Mosul to head to Syria.

Iraqi government and Kurdish forces, backed by US-led coalition air and ground support, launched coordinated military operations yesterday to wrest Mosul from IS. There have been reports that a route leading to Syria was left open for IS fighters who want to flee.

IS controls parts of Syria and Iraq and the extremists have been crossing between the two counties since they declared a self-styled caliphate in parts of Iraq and Syria in June 2014.

— AP