Takfiri Daesh terror group leaders, their wives escaping Mosul amid fighting

US Army Major General Gary Volesky (Photo via army.mil)

Top Takfiri leaders of the Daesh terror group are escaping Mosul along with their wives amid an offensive by the government troops to liberate Iraq’s second largest city, says a top US Army general in charge of the US-led coalition’s land component.

Major General Gary Volesky made the announcement to reporters via video conference on Wednesday.

"We are telling Daesh that their leaders are abandoning them. We've seen a movement out of Mosul,” he said as the long-anticipated battle for Mosul entered its third day.

He further speculated that the foreign members of Daesh will end up as the ones left behind in the city before it is recaptured.

"It's difficult for them to blend into the local population based on the number of different types of foreign fighters that there are," he said, adding, the foreigners’ efforts to leave in disguise of refugees will be thwarted.

Meanwhile, the Iraqi media outlet al-Sumaria said in a report that the group “evacuated what it called the women of caliphate from the city of Mosul to the Syrian Daesh-held cities including Raqqah, over the last two days,” adding, “These women are the wives of the leaders of ISIS.”

“The women of caliphate were evacuated by orders from Baghdad to avoid being captured by the security forces or rebellious people of Mosul after liberating the city,” it said.

The Mosul operation , which kicked off by the Iraqi army as well as various military groups in the country, including Shia, Sunni and Kurdish forces, aims to drive out Daesh terrorists from their last stronghold in Iraq.