Nearly 1,000 people have been treated for breathing problems linked to toxic gases from a sulphur plant which Islamic State militants are suspected to have set on fire near the city of Mosul, hospital sources have said. Iraqi army forces and allied militias have been battling to retake the city, Isis’s last Iraqi stronghold, since Monday. A US military official estimated there were fewer than 200 Isis fighters left in Qaraqosh. The offensive on Mosul is expected to become the biggest battle fought in Iraq since the US-led invasion in 2003. At least 50 people have been killed and 80 others wounded in clashes between security forces and the militants in Kirkuk.

Source: The Guardian October 22, 2016 13:13 UTC