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ISIS is cornered, desperate, and leaving trail of destruction in Mosul

ISIS cornered in Mosul
ISIS cornered and desperate in Mosul 02:31
Iraqi forces push to drive ISIS out of Mosul 02:21

Mosul, IRAQ -- The forces pushing out ISIS in Iraq say the militant group is trapped inside western Mosul. The U.S. envoy to the coalition fighting ISIS says they’ve cut off the last road out of the city and it’s only a matter of time before ISIS is “totally defeated.” 

There’s no way for ISIS fighters to survive the airstrikes slamming into their hideouts here, reports CBS News correspondent Holly Williams.

Brigadier Gen. Abbas Al Jbouri confirms with his men that they’ve hit their target, and then sends his troops forward to claw back another city block from ISIS.

“Very close from us, 150 meters, killed more than 15,” Jbouri said..

“So that means your men can now push forward another 200 yards or so?” Williams asked.

He nodded. “It’s very easy now,” Jbouri said.

There’s no way out for the extremists. They’re surrounded and desperate, but instead of surrendering, they’re still lobbing mortars. One shattered building is all that’s left of Mosul’s museum, a charred shell with the exhibits nowhere to be seen. ISIS smashed them, seeing artifacts from this country’s ancient civilization as un-Islamic, according to a gang of violent fanatics.

“They destroyed everything, you saw. There is nothing now,” Jbouri said.

“Just destruction?” Williams asked.

“Yeah, that’s all. That’s what they did, everywhere,” Jbouri said.

They’re beating ISIS back in Mosul, but on every street they recapture, there’s more evidence of the chaos wreaked by the extremists.

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