With the timeline unclear for a forthcoming US-led coalition assault on the Islamic State (IS) stronghold of Mosul, Kurdish peshmerga fighters continue to man the trenches at the strategic junction of Keske, just outside the northern Iraqi city.
VICE News traveled to Keske to meet with peshmerga fighters and to learn their thoughts on the coalition’s mulled offensive, as they continue to cut off IS’s vital supply lines from Syria.
Videos by VICE
Watch “The Battle for Iraq: Shia Militias vs. the Islamic State”
Watch “The Battle For Iraq (Dispatch 8)”
Read “Publicity Blitz Hypes Iran-Backed Offensive Against Islamic State in Iraq”