Iraqi Army and police units, Shi’ite militias and Kurdish fighters have surrounded Mosul to the west, south, and north.
U.S. forces backing the Iraqi army in the battle for Mosul have taken out a key fourth bridge, restricting ISIS from crossing between western and eastern parts of the city, according to a Reuters article.
A U.S. military official reports the airstrike was carried out on a bridge that spanned the Tigris River.
Five Mosul bridges spanned the Tigris, which runs through the city, but they were all mined and boobytrapped by Islamic State militants who took over the city two years ago.
They declared a caliphate in parts of Iraq and neighboring Syria, and the IS fighters have been able to use the bridges despite the planted mines, until the airstrike hit that fourth bridge on Tuesday.
A U.S. air strike destroyed the No. 2 bridge in the center of the city a month ago, and two weeks later another strike took out the No. 5 bridge to the north, leaving only one bridge left intact.
“This effort impedes Daesh’s (ISIS) freedom of movement in Mosul. It inhibits their ability to resupply or reinforce their fighters throughout the city,” said Air Force Colonel John Dorrian, a Baghdad-based spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition.
U.S.-trained Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service forces are furthering their advances into east Mosul, which is the last major city controlled by the Sunni terrorist group in Iraq.
Efforts from the army have slowed down due to the one million civilians in the city being used as shields.
There are currently over 68,000 people that have been displaced in the latest fighting.
