The Iraqi and Kurdish armies continue to progress towards Mosul in northern Iraq, and are now a mere 15 kilometers from the city itself, posing a threat to ISIS control there. Mosul is Iraq's second largest city and was conquered by ISIS in 2014
According to Iraqi News, ISIS has launched a large fundraising campaign, and has "forced the people of Mosul to donate their money to support the ‘Caliphate State’ in the battles against the government forces and other security forces.”
To show their defiance, ISIS slaughtered 284 men and boys, then piled their bodies in a mass grave.
CNN reported ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi slaughtered 59 senior ISIS captains after they attempted to negotiate withdrawal from Mosul in return for safely escaping the city.
Over a thousand people suffered injuries from breathing gases in the Mosul area, after a sulfur factory in the south of the city was set on fire. The fire is assumed to have been ISIS arson, as the factory was besieged by Iraqi forces.
ISIS has several thousand fighters in Mosul, its last major stronghold in Iraq. ISIS has been spilling oil in moats around the city and setting them afire, causing choking black smoke to fill the air.
An Iraqi newspaper reported that since the start of the Mosul campaign, 473 ISIS terrorists were killed and 53 nearby villages were liberated by Iraqi forces.