Iraq Drops Leaflets Over Mosul

Iraqi aircraft dropped “tens of thousands” of leaflets, some bearing safety instructions for Mosul residents, ahead of an operation to retake the city from militants, the military said. One image showed a leaflet containing safety instructions for Mosul residents, urging them to tape over windows to prevent the glass from shattering, to avoid the sites of airstrikes for at least an hour after a place is bombed and saying they should not drive if possible, France24 reported. The launch of the operation is expected to be announced soon, but it will mark only the start of a battle that is likely to be the most difficult and complex yet in the war against IS. A coalition of heterogeneous and sometimes rival Iraqi forces will have to fight their way through the defenses set up by the self-styled Islamic State terrorist group to reach the city, in some cases over distances of dozens of kilometers. The battle may spark a humanitarian crisis, with the United Nations warning that up to one million people may be displaced by the fighting as winter sets in.