ISIS's rat-holes uncovered, a network of secret escape routes to evade coalition airstrikes in Iraq

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.

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.

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.