Advance Iraqi troops south of Mosul

baghdad - Iraqi forces are Wednesday advanced to the outskirts of the town of Hammam al-Alil southwest of Mosul. Aid organizations and Iraqi regional officials say Islamic State (IS) has executed in Hammam al-Alil dozens of prisoners.

According to staff of the United Nations wants the IS about 25. 000 remaining civilians from the town away to use them as human shields in defense of Mosul. Before IS the town was in the hands, Hammam al-Alil were an estimated 65 000 people.

Monday pulled Iraqi soldiers in al-Karama. This district is located in the newer part of Mosul, on the eastern bank of the Tigris River. Iraqi troops advancing on the western bank of the Tigris to the north, on Wednesday five villages conquered IS, said a statement from the military. The center of Mosul lies on the western bank of the Tigris.

More than two weeks ago the Iraqi army with militia of Kurds and Shiites began an offensive to expel the extremists of IS in Mosul