To secure Mosul, Iraq army makes desert push with US help

Talul al-Atshana (Iraq) (AFP) - Much of the fighting for west Mosul will be at close quarters, but Iraq's battle against the Islamic State group is also being waged in the open desert.On a dusty ridge west of Iraq's second city, the army's 9th Division is advancing through exposed territory in a push to sever the road between west Mosul and the IS-held town of Tal Afar.The main route from Tal Afar to IS-held territory in Syria has already been cut, but severing the road from the town to Mosul wi