Irbil/Dubai/Washington — Iraq has launched a long-awaited offensive to retake Islamic State’s last major stronghold in the country, amid mounting concern over the fate of 1.2-million trapped city residents. More than two years after IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi swept into the northern city and declared a so-called caliphate at a local mosque, thousands of Iraqi ground troops backed by Kurdish fighters advanced toward Mosul in the early hours of Monday. The US-led coalition against IS said it was backing the campaign with air strikes, artillery, intelligence and advisers. "We will soon meet at Mosul to celebrate the victory and will all stand together to punish Islamic State," Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi said on state television. "We will restore order and stability in Mosul." Victory would all but end IS’s control over territory in the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’s second-biggest producer just as the group faces defeats elsewhere in the region. Hours befor...
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