- Network of underground tunnels discovered after Kurdish forces re-captured the town of Sinjar in Iraq
- Some of the tunnels have been wired with electricity and are thought to be 30 feet deep and just three feet wide
- The secret chambers allowed jihadis to freely move underground and evade devastating coalition airstrikes
A deep
network of underground tunnels have been uncovered in Iraq, revealing
how ISIS have been carefully maintaining escape routes for its fighters
as they try to avoid coalition airstrikes.
The
tunnels were discovered by Kurdish forces when the Peshmerga managed to
re-take the Yazidi majority town of Sinjar last December.
Burrowing
deep into the ground, some of the chambers are thought to be 30 feet
deep, allowing ISIS fighters to hide out and move freely out of the way
of airstrikes.
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Revealed: A first look inside the tunnels has found that the jihadis even wired the underground chambers with electricity
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Uncovered: The tunnels were discovered
by Kurdish forces when the Peshmerga managed to re-take the Yazidi
majority town of Sinjar
Although
70 tunnels have been uncovered, Kurdish and Iraqi forces remain
concerned that more secret layers may have been constructed in other
parts of the town.
'There
is a tunnel under every alley, street and public building that remains
intact,' Wais Faiq, head of Sinjar town council told the International
Business Times.
Mr Faiq said that ISIS had 'dug so many to the extent that they completely destroyed the infrastructure of Sinjar.'
The
tunnels remain in a precarious state with concerns remaining that parts
of the labyrinth of corridors may have been rigged with explosives.
The
discovery was made more surprising when soldiers investigating the
tunnels found that ISIS had even wired the chambers with electricity.
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Devastating: Mr Faiq said that ISIS had 'dug so many to the extent that they completely destroyed the infrastructure of Sinjar'
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Terrifying: Although
70 tunnels have been uncovered, Kurdish and Iraqi forces remain
concerned that more secret layers may have been constructed in other
parts of the town
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Uncovered: A member of the Peshmerga forces inspects a tunnel used by ISIS militants in the town of Sinjar
The news comes as the US-led coalition carried out further airstrikes against ISIS forces in both Iraq and Syria.
United
States and its allies staged 21 strikes on Tuesday against ISIS, the
coalition leading the operations confirmed in a statement.
Fourteen strikes in Iraq concentrated on the jihadi-held cities of Mosul and Fallujah.
The
coalition claimed to have hit two tactical units, an improvised
explosive device facility and three vehicles used by the militant group,
among other targets.
Other strikes were conducted near Ramadi, Sinjar, Al Qaim, Albu Hayat, Bayji and Habbaniya, the statement said.
In
Syria, seven strikes near four cities - Al Hawl, Ar Raqqa, Manbij and
Mar'a - hit numerous targets, including an ISIS headquarters, five
tactical units and two buildings.
ISIS
have been trying to regain ground close to the oil rich fields of Baiji
and the city of Tikrit, which was re-captured by government forces in
March 2015.
Suicide
bombers from Morocco, Libya and Iraq were used in a triple raid on
government forces as well as paramilitary forces near Samarra.
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Dangerous: Many of the tunnels have abandoned by the jihadis, who have rigged the chambers with explosives
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Concerning: Many of the tunnels have been bored by the sappers through the floors and walls of houses
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