Iraqi forces launch fresh offensive on Islamic State, gain ground in Mosul's Old City

[caption id="attachment_3768095" align="alignnone" width="940"] Members of Iraqi Army's ninth armoured division click selfies with an Islamic State flag. The special forces have recaptured more of Mosul's historic heart, as they press the final stages of an assault to drive the Islamic State group from Iraq's second largest city, the military said on Sunday. Reuters[/caption][caption id="attachment_3768097" align="alignnone" width="940"] More than eight months since the country's forces launched a gruelling operation to retake Mosul, Islamic State has gone from fully controlling the city to holding a few neighbourhoods on its western side. Reuters[/caption][caption id="attachment_3768103" align="alignnone" width="940"] Smoke billows from militants' positions after an arterial attack. Counter-terrorism forces liberated the Makawi area of the Old City of Mosul, the joint operations command announced on Sunday, in a further blow at the heart of the jihadists' cross-border "caliphate". Reuters[/caption][caption id="attachment_3768117" align="alignnone" width="940"] Iraqi forces have been closing in on the Old City for months, but its narrow streets and closely spaced buildings combined with a large civilian population made for an extremely difficult fight. Security forces recaptured a series of nearby districts, cornering the jihadists, before launching an assault in the Old City on 18 June. Reuters[/caption][caption id="attachment_3768137" align="alignnone" width="940"] An Iraqi soldier and civilians run to avoid Islamic State snipers in Shifa. Interior ministry forces recaptured the Ibn Sina hospital along with other medical facilities including a blood bank and a clinic, staff lieutenant general Abdulamir Yarallah said. The Islamic State occupied several Mosul hospitals during the battle for the city. Some security personnel have complained that restrictions on using heavy weapons against hospitals, intended to protect the facilities, have made operations riskier and more time-consuming. Reuters[/caption][caption id="attachment_3768141" align="alignnone" width="940"] On Thursday, Iraqi forces retook the remains of the Grand Mosque of al-Nuri in their greatest symbolic victory since the battle began. The mosque had become a symbol of Islamic State's self-declared cross-border "caliphate". Reuters[/caption][caption id="attachment_3768153" align="alignnone" width="940"] IS claimed on its Amaq propaganda agency that the site was hit in a US air strike, but the US-led coalition said it was the jihadists who had "destroyed one of Mosul and Iraq's great treasures". The day following the victory, a senior Iraqi commander said victory in Mosul would be declared within the "next few days". Reuters[/caption][caption id="attachment_3768155" align="alignnone" width="940"] Fleeing civilians arrive at a processing centre before being transferred to refugee camps in western Mosul. The recapture of Mosul will not, however, mark the end of the war against Islamic State. The jihadist group still holds territories in both Iraq and neighbouring Syria, where it has been able to carry out attacks in government-held areas. The militants and "lone wolf" attackers inspired by the group's ideology have also carried out multiple operations overseas. Reuters[/caption]