Iraqi special forces join battle in Mosul
Iraqi special forces have joined the battle for Mosul with a pre-dawn advance on a nearby town held by the so-called 'Islamic State' group, a key part of a multi-pronged assault on eastern approaches to the besieged city.
The addition of the elite troops marks a significant intensification of the fight.
As they advanced, attack helicopters fired on the militants and heavy gunfire echoed across the plains.
Major General Maan al-Saadi said the elite Counterterrorism Forces advanced on the town of Bartella with the aid of US-led coalition air strikes and heavy artillery on the fourth day of a massive operation to retake Iraq's second-largest city.
"God willing, we will take this town today," he said.
The militants fought back, unleashing at least four suicide car bombs against the advancing forces, one of which blew up after it was struck by tank fire.
The special forces are expected to lead the way into Mosul, where they will face fierce resistance in an urban landscape where IS militants are preparing for a climactic battle.
The offensive is the largest operation by Iraqi forces since the 2003 US-led invasion, and is expected to take weeks, if not months.
Kurdish forces known as peshmerga, who are also taking part in the offensive, announced a "large-scale operation" to the north and north east of Mosul.
"The operation will be in three fronts," the peshmerga said in a statement after recent gains by the peshmerga to the east of Mosul and Iraqi security forces to the south.
Peshmerga forces stationed on mountains north east of Mosul descended from their positions and charged towards the front line.
They used bulldozers and other heavy equipment to fill trenches and moved armoured vehicles into the breach after about an hour of mortar and gunfire at IS positions below in the village of Barima.
Military operations also appeared to be under way in the town of Bashiqa, north east of Mosul, with thick smoke billowing from the town.
A day earlier, Bashiqa was pounded by air strikes and mortar fire from Kurdish peshmerga positions high above.
The approaches to Mosul run through clusters of mostly abandoned villages where IS militants have planted roadside bombs and other booby traps.
Bartella, a traditionally Christian town which fell to IS two years ago, is believed to be empty of civilians.
"Our intelligence tells us the district is full of IEDs," Maj Gen al-Saadi said, referring to the homemade explosives 'IS' has planted in huge numbers during past campaigns.
Special forces Deputy Officer Ziyad Katham Humaydi said one of the vehicle bombs was an armoured truck filled with explosives. He said the group often uses suicide truck bombers as a first line of defence to hold territory.
"We've even seen them rig a full oil tanker with explosives," he said.
'IS' captured Mosul during a lightning advance across northern Iraq in 2014, and leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi announced the formation of a self-styled caliphate from the pulpit of a Mosul mosque.
Mosul is the largest city controlled by the extremist group and its last major urban bastion in Iraq.
Iraq's US-trained special forces are seen as far more capable than the mainstream security forces that crumbled as 'IS' advanced in 2014.
'IS' have played a central role in liberating several cities and towns over the past year, including Ramadi and Fallujah, in western Anbar province.
More than 25,000 troops, including the Iraqi army, the peshmerga, Sunni tribal fighters and Shiite militias are taking part in the Mosul offensive, which began on Monday after months of preparation.
