The elite CTS special forces are also fighting the IS militants in several nearby neighbourhoods, as they have been advancing closer to the western edge of Mosul's densely populated old city centre, where hundreds of thousands of civilians are believed to still be trapped under the IS rule. Mosul: Iraqi government forces battling the Islamic State retook control of more areas in the old city centre of western Mosul, while an international airstrike on the IS positions killed six leaders of the extremist group in the city, the Iraqi military said on Sunday. "We have been hearing many stories from people feeling western Mosul - civilians caught in the middle, being killed by all sides in the conflict.
Thousands of Iraqis flee western Mosul as the battle between Iraqi and allied forces and ISIL militants escalates in the densely populated Old City.