Islamic State built an obstacle course in an old railway tunnel where raw recruits crawled under barbed wire and scaled walls to begin their reshaping into seasoned fighters, according to Iraqi military officials who uncovered it. – Wall Street Journal (subscription required)
A takeover of Badush would sever Highway 47, a vital road linking Mosul to the Islamic State-held city of Tall Afar, about 40 miles west of Mosul and now cut off from the Syrian border by Shiite-dominated militias known as the Popular Mobilization Units. Taking the road would further restrict the militants’ movements, denying them the use of a vital supply route as well as a pathway to make their escape. – Los Angeles Times
Rival Kurdish groups clashed in Iraq's northwestern Sinjar region on Friday, two Kurdish security sources said, causing deaths on both sides. - Reuters