Iraqi army launches offensive to retake west Mosul from Islamic State

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has announced the launch of a military operation aimed at retaking the western half of the city of Mosul from Islamic State (IS).

The operation is part of a large offensive to take the entire city back into government hands after it fell to IS in 2014.

The Iraqi government has regained the eastern half of the city, while IS remains in control of the western half. However, following the seizure of 17 nearby villages by the Iraqi army on Sunday, the IS contingent in Mosul is now surrounded on all sides by government security forces.

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Abadi declared on television yesterday: "We announce the start of a new phase in the operation. We are coming to Nineveh to liberate the western side of Mosul."

Reporting from the area, Al Jazeera's Osama Bin Javaid confirmed that several different groups would be involved in "a complex assault" on IS positions.

"[Mosul is] flanked from the eastern side by counter-terrorism forces, from the south by the Iraqi police, and from the north by the Iraqi military and the popular mobilisation forces, also known as the Shia militias," he said.

Western Mosul is densely populated and the United Nations has expressed concern regarding the welfare of citizens during the operation. According to the organisation, up to 650,000 residents may be trapped in the area.

Lise Grande, the UN's humanitarian coordinator in Iraq, said: "We are racing against the clock to prepare emergency sites south of Mosul to receive displaced families."

Leaflets have been dropped over the west of the city by the Iraqi army to warn residents that a liberation offensive is imminent.