Iraqi forces have recaptured three neighbourhoods in their offensive to wrestle contol of West Mosul from the Islamic State (IS) group (AFP Photo/ARIS MESSINIS)

Mosul (Iraq) (AFP) - Iraqi forces said Tuesday they had seized the main government offices in Mosul and its famed museum as they made steady progress in their battle to retake the city's west from jihadists. Among the buildings re-captured from ISIS on Monday were the Mosul Museum , the judicial government complex and the Nineveh police directorate building, Abdel Amir al-Mohamadi, Commander of the Rapid Response Forces of the Iraqi Federal Police, told CNN. The breakthrough paves the way for the U.S.-backed forces to attack the militants in the old city of Mosul, the most complicated phase in the nearly five-month campaign due to the density of the population and the narrowness of the alleyways. All the bridges crossing the Tigris in Mosul have been damaged or destroyed, and Iraqi forces would either have to repair them or instal floating bridges to reconnect the two banks of the river dividing the city. About 750,000 people were estimated by aid organisations to live in western Mosul when the offensive started on this side of the city on February 19.
The Iraqi Army retakes Mosul Museum as well as the main government building in Mosul.