IS claims coalition airstrike disables fourth Mosul bridge
BAGHDAD (AP) - An airstrike by the U.S.-led coalition on Wednesday "disabled" the fourth bridge on the Tigris River in Mosul, leaving the northern Iraqi city with a single functioning bridge, according to the Islamic State's media arm.
The Aamaq news agency gave no details on the airstrike which, if confirmed, would be the second to target a Mosul bridge this week and the fourth since shortly before the Oct. 17 start of the Iraqi government's campaign to retake the city from the extremist group.
There was no immediate confirmation on the airstrike from the U.S.-led coalition or the Iraqi military.
Mosul had five bridges on the Tigris until shortly before the start of the campaign to retake the city from IS. Targeting the bridges appears designed to disrupt IS supply lines in Mosul, which is sliced in half by the river.
Most of the fighting in Mosul is taking place in the eastern part of the city - east of the Tigris - where Iraqi special forces are slowly moving toward the city center in the face of stiff IS resistance.
The destruction of the bridges means that the Iraqi military and its allies - the Kurdish peshmerga forces and Sunni tribesmen - would have to use military pontoon bridges to cross the river.
The progress of the campaign has generally been slow as the Iraqis and the U.S.-led coalition avoid using overwhelming power against the Islamic State group because of the presence inside the city of some 1 million civilians.
One Tuesday, a U.N. spokesman said the number of displaced people fleeing the military operation has grown to over 68,000. Stephane Dujarric said 8,300 Iraqis had been displaced from the city and outlying districts over the past four days, citing figures from the U.N.-linked International Organization for Migration.
The majority of the displaced, 59,200, came from the districts surrounding Mosul and the rest from inside the city, he said.
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Associated Press writer Bassem Mroue contributed to this report from Beirut.