The United Nations and humanitarian agencies said that the number of people displaced by the ongoing fighting in western Mosul in north Iraq has continued to surge, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said here on Wednesday.
Hundreds of civilians fled through the desert Tuesday to escape fighting and privation in Mosul, joining thousands of others who left their homes amid dire conditions in the city's west.
Iraqi forces battled jihadists in west Mosul on Sunday, aiming to build a floating bridge across the Tigris to establish an important supply route linked to the recaptured east bank.
Iraqi forces on Thursday thrust into Mosul airport on the southern edge of the jihadist stronghold for the first time since the Islamic State group overran the region in 2014.
Iraqi forces on Thursday fought heavy clashes with Islamic State (IS) militants as part of a new assault on Thursday morning to retake of Mosul international airport and a nearby military base from the hands of the extremist militants, the Iraqi military said.
U.S.-backed Iraqi security forces closing in on the Islamic State-held western half of Mosul stormed the city's airport and a nearby military base on Thursday, state television said.
Iraqi security forces on Thursday started an assault to retake the Mosul international airport and a military base nearby from Islamic State (IS) militants, the military said.
U.S.-backed Iraqi forces closing in on the Islamic State-held western half of Mosul prepared on Tuesday to storm the airport and a nearby military base on its southern outskirts to create a bridgehead for a thrust into the city.
The United Nations refugee agency is focusing efforts on camp construction in and around the Iraqi city of Mosul, where renewed fighting could displace up to 250,000 people, UN officials said here Tuesday.
Iraqi forces backed by jets and helicopters battled their way towards southern Mosul on Monday and prepared to take on the Islamic State group's stronghold in the city's west bank.
Iraqi forces seized 15 villages from the Islamic State group Sunday, launching a daunting operation to retake west Mosul which aid groups warned will put civilians in grave danger.
The United Nations said Thursday that the UN mission will resume its operations in eastern Mosul in north Iraq on Sunday after it temporarily suspended its activities earlier this week out of security concerns.
The United Nations said on Tuesday it is "racing against the clock" to prepare emergency aid for hundreds of thousands of endangered civilians in Mosul with an Iraqi army offensive looming to oust Islamic State from the western half of the city.
Iraqi officials said on Monday government forces had taken complete control of eastern Mosul, 100 days after the start of their U.S.-backed campaign to dislodge Islamic State militants from the city.
Iraqi forces have retaken control of east Mosul from the Islamic State group, commanders said on Wednesday, three months after a huge offensive against the jihadist bastion was launched.
Iraqi forces advanced Thursday after declaring a new phase in their offensive on eastern Mosul, stepping up efforts to reclaim the Islamic State group's last major stronghold in the country.
Iraqi security forces launched a fresh advance on Thursday against Islamic State militants in several southeastern districts of Mosul, where the fight had been stalled for about a month, Interior Ministry officials said.
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