Civilians pay price of IS's 'smoke war' around Mosul
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By W.G. Dunlop with Jean-Marc Mojon in Baghdad (AFP) 2 hours ago in World
The smoke from fires lit by Islamic State jihadists to provide cover from air strikes has painted the northern Iraqi sky black, providing a dramatic backdrop for the Mosul offensive.
The use of smoke in warfare is likely as old as war itself but the masks and technology available to Iraqi forces in this conflict leave civilians, especially children, the most vulnerable.
As forces closed in on their Mosul bastion, IS set fire to oil wells, torched tyres inside the city and set up a defence system around it that includes burning oil trenches to blind their enemy's air and satellite assets.
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