IS crushes Mosul rebellion plot

Islamic State has crushed a rebellion plot in Mosul, led by one of the group's commanders who aimed to switch sides and help deliver the caliphate's Iraqi capital to government forces, residents and Iraqi security officials said.

IS executed 58 people suspected of taking part in the plot after it was uncovered last week. Residents, who spoke to Reuters from some of the few locations in the city that have phone service, said the plotters were killed by drowning and their bodies were buried in a mass grave in a wasteland on the outskirts of the city.

The aim of the plotters was to undermine IS's defence of Mosul in the upcoming fight, expected to be the biggest battle in Iraq since the 2003 US-led invasion.

Mosul is the last major stronghold of IS in Iraq. Iraqi officials say a massive ground assault could begin this month, backed by US air power, Kurdish security forces and Shia and Sunni irregular units.

Meanwhile, Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency reported yesterday that forces trained by the Turkish military at the Bashiqa camp in northern Iraq will take part in the planned operation to drive IS out of Mosul.  It cited officials who took part in talks between Turkey and the United States, as well as Iraqi sources, as saying the operation would begin within a few days, "if there is no extraordinary development".