Iraqi forces thrust into west Mosul from the north on Thursday, opening a new front in the more than six-month-old offensive to dislodge the Islamic State group from the country's second city. The assault is aimed at sealing the siege of the Old City, where die-hard jihadists holding huge numbers of civilians hostage are preparing for a bloody last stand. Forces from the army, the interior ministry and the police "began breaching the western side from the north," the Joint Operations Command (JOC) coordinating the war against IS said in a statement.
"Now your sons are fighting and striking the enemy's defences... They rejoice in victory or martyrdom for the sake of liberating the rest of the city of Mosul from Daesh (IS) terrorists," it said. The JOC said the targets of the latest push were northwestern neighbourhoods on the edges of Mosul called Musharifah, Kanisah and Al-Haramat.