DIYARBAKIR, Turkey — Mosul and its surroundings, which have been under Islamic State (IS) occupation for two years, are quite active these days. Kurdish forces besieging Mosul alongside the Iraqi army are frequently targeted in multipronged assaults by IS.
Telskuf — northwest of Mosul and a base for Kurds as well as American military specialists supplying coordinates to coalition aircraft — has been a target in IS' sight. An American was wounded in an assault there launched May 4. As is often the case, a medevac helicopter couldn’t extract the wounded American because of heavy fire in the area. Instead, a group of Kurdish fighters carried the American to safety in a building, where they quickly came under IS fire from a nearby ambush position.
