Iraqi forces push into southern outskirts of Mosul

by Dramelin 4:00 AM 0 comments

(Photo: AHMAD AL-RUBAYE, AFP/Getty Images)IRBIL, Iraq ? Iraqi security forces pushed into the southern outskirts of Mosul on Monday, the second day of a new offensive to drive the Islamic State from the western half of the beleaguered city.
An estimated 750,000 civilians, half of them children, are still trapped in western Mosul by several thousand ISIS fighters.
U.
S.
-backed Iraqi forces launched an offensive Sunday to drive the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, from its last stronghold in the country in an operation that risks triggering a massive humanitarian crisis.
CLOSE Skip in Skip x Embed x Share Iraqi forces have launched an offensive on jihadists defending Mosul`s west bank, in what could be the most brutal fighting yet in a four-month-old operation on the country`s second city.
Meanwhile, police in armored vehicles were moving toward the Ghazlani military base on the southwestern outskirts of the city, according to the AP.