US envoy, BRETT MCGURK, ssued the warning after Iraqi forces cut off the last road out of the city, trapping Islamic State fighters inside.
He said the United States was committed to not just defeating IS in Mosul, but to ensure that they do not escape.
Meanwhile; Iraqi government forces are no reported to be in control of more than a third of western Mosul.
Staff Major General MAAN AL-SAADI, of Iraq’s elite Counter-Terrorism Service, said he believed the fight would be easier than in eastern Mosul.
The jihadists have held Mosul, which is Iraq’s second city, since 2014, but Iraqi forces have managed to retake large areas in a months-long offensive.
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