Iraqis close in on Mosul, Jihadists plan to escape

KHAZIR, Iraq: As a major Iraqi offensive moved ever closer to Mosul on Wednesday, Jihadists with the Islamic State group have started shaving their beards and changing hideouts, residents said.

With pressure building on the 10th day of the Mosul assault, officials from the 60-nation anti-IS coalition were already looking ahead to the next target -- the Islamic State group’s other major stronghold of Raqa in Syria.