then launch counterattacks at iraqi forces more fixed positions. the fighting in the days ahead expected to be fierce. fr in the planning for months. it has not been a secret. the iraqi military wanted to give civilians time to flee and warn them. donald trump, who obviously does not have military experience, has criticized the lack of secrecy surrounding the offensive. here s what he said in the last debate. let me tell you. mosul is so sad. we had mosul but when she left, when she took everybody out, she lost mosul. now we re fighting again to get mosul. the problem with mosul and what they wanted to do was they wanted to get the leaders of isis, who they felt were in mosul. whatever happened to the element of surprise? okay? we announce we re going after mosul. i ve been reading about going after mosul now for about how long is it, hillary, three months? these people have all left. they ve all left. the element of surprise.
well, the final week of the presidential race is overlapping with one of the biggest battles yet against isis. tonight, iraqi forces are within striking distance of mosul. they ve captured an isis-held village on the city s outskirts, opening a pathway into mosul. cnn s arwa damon has the latest. reporter: the iraqi counterterrorism forces moved in and over the course of the last two days attempted to sweep through from multiple directions, coming across what are now fairly common isis tactics, the suicide bombers, suicide car bombs, roads inlain with ieds. but what we also saw is something else isis has been doing fairly frequently, and that is leaving behind small groups of fighters, two, three, four people who lay in wait and
well, the final week of the presidential race is overlapping with one of the biggest battles yet against isis. tonight, iraqi forces are within striking distance of mosul. they ve captured an isis-held village on the city s outskirts, opening a pathway into mosul. cnn s arwa damon has the latest. the iraqi counterforces moved and over the course of the last few days attempted to sweep from multiple directions, coming across what are now fairly common isis tactics, the suicide bombers, suicide car bombers, roads inlain with ieds. but what we also saw is something else isis has been doing fairly frequently, and that is leaving behind small groups of fighters, two, three, four people who lay in wait and then launch counterattacks at iraqi forces, more fixed positions. the fighting in the days