Iraq launches fresh assault on central Mosul

Campaign commander Lieutenant General Abdul Ameer Rasheed Yarallah was quot-ed by Iraqi television as saying troops had entered Salam Hospital, less than a mile (1.5 km) from the Tigris river running through the city center. 

If confirmed, that would mark a significant advance by the Ninth Armoured Division, which had been tied up for more than a month in close-quarter combat with Islamic State on the southeastern fringes of the city. 

Residents of Islamic State controlled dis-tricts of east Mosul said by telephone the army had punched deep into the east bank of the city, getting close to the Tigris. 

“The fighting right now is very heavy - Iraqi forces have gone past our neighbourhood without entering it. Our area is now practically surrounded by the river and the Iraqi forces,” said a resident of the Palestine neighbourhood.