they re getting some help from their friends. smoke in the fortnight to take that down and mark that. reporter: american soldiers they decline to share their names are setting coordinates for isis positions. just a little over a mile away from the extremists. they never fired their sniper rifle, but used it to identify targets. nearby, they assemble a drone. the pentagon officials say u.s. service personnel are operating ever closer to the action. the bombardment of western mosul is intense and steady. iraqis flying russian-made mi-35 helicopters blasted isis targets inside the city.
service personnel are operating ever closer to the action. the bombardment of western mosul is intense and steady. iraqis flying russian made mi-35 attack helicopters blasted isis targets inside the city. rapid response force says resistance has been stiff because isis fighters realize they re cornered. translator: they re surrounded, he tells me. there s no escape. either they die fighting or they surrender. the airport on the southern edge of the city is in ruins. the runway strewn with concrete blocks. the fighting is proceeding at an accelerated rate.
this escalating crisis in iraq. armed american drones are now patrolling the skies over baghdad, as islamist militants creep closer to the capital city. let s talk about it with cnn military analyst, retired air force colonel rick francona. colonel francona, thank you so much. as we were talking about earlier, we know now that the iraqi air force has carried out these air strikes on isis targets in mosul. what do you make of the developments there this morning? this is nothing new. they ve been doing this for quite a few days now. they ve been using their mi-35 helicopter gunship, a russian-built platform, very, very capable, heavily armed, can put a lot of ammunition on target. i m a little disturbed with them going into market areas and using these heavy weapons there, and of course you re going to take civilian casualties. but politically, this is a good thing. this shows that the iraqis are not willing to seed the entire western part of the country. they re not going to put the