VIDEO: Iraqi Army Patrols Streets of Mosul’s Eastern Districts

Airstrikes, automatic fire and artillery were heard from dawn and one soldier was reported killed in clashes. Civilians, some of them injured by mortar fire and bombs, attempted to flee the fighting. Iraqi forces launched the long-awaited operation to retake Mosul a month ago but have only advanced into a few eastern districts.

The troops have faced fierce resistance, with snipers, mortar fire and Islamic State (IS / ISIS / ISIL / Daesh) suicide bombers driving armour-plated vehicles packed with explosives. Mosul is the last major holdout for the militants in Iraq. Driving them out would deal a severe blow to the IS’s self-styled caliphate stretching into Syria.