“A number of the families… and leaders of (IS) in Mosul, they and their families sold their belongings and withdrew towards Syria”, whose border west of the city, Obeidi told Iraqiya state television.
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ISIS has crumbled in Iraq, losing at least half the territory it seized in 2014, and it also looks set to lose ground Syria with continued airstrikes from Western forces.
The comments come as the Iraqi military and its allies are preparing to launch a large-scale offensive to liberate the northern city of Mosul, which Daesh has proclaimed its headquarters in Iraq.
Iraqi government forces, backed by fighters from allied Popular Mobilization Units, have been pushing the militants out of the country’s territory.
It may be mentioned here that following the liberation of Fallujah and Qayyarah air base, the Iraqi army association with the US-led coalition is tightening noose around Mosul- considered as the last ISIS bastion.
Islamic State leaders have started to flee the Iraqi city of Mosul, as US-backed Iraqi and Kurdish forces close in on the jihadists’ largest stronghold.
Obeidi said the biggest challenge will be protecting civilians, who he said number around 2 million.
“We expect when operations begin in the city proper there will be large displacement”.
The International Committee for the Red Cross says up to one million people could be driven from their homes in Mosul, and the United Nations estimates the number could be even higher. “More than three million people are already internally displaced”, it said.
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Mosul was once home to some two million people, but the current population has been estimated at around half that figure, with the number of those fleeing their homes increasing.
