Peshmerga 'pauses' advance on Mosul

Reports on various websites on Tuesday suggested that the Kurdish peshmerga have dug in to positions around Mosul after taking several villages on the way to the city.

The Wall Street journal quotes a commander, Khathar Sheikhan, as saying his forces had "achieved our objectives... The Iraqi army will now advance past our arenas of control".

The WSJ however reported a denial by US forces of a "pause" in the operation, a day after it was launched. 

“There’s no pause in efforts to liberate Mosul. Troops are on the move on various axes of advance toward the city,” said John Dorrian, a US colonel and spokesman for the US-led coalition. “Some commanders have reached their objectives ahead of schedule after encountering light-to-moderate resistance.”

According to reports, Kurdish forces are not scheduled to mount a full assault on the city itself - rather, they are being used as a clearing and screening force to allow regular Iraqi government forces to advance.