Iraqi security forces are reported to now be in the final stage of recapturing the Islamic State-held city of Fallujah.

Government troops and pro-government militia have still not attempted to enter the main city. But they say they have recaptured areas in the southern suburbs and an area north of Saqlawiyah, a town located northwest of Fallujah.

Efforts to regain areas under ISIL control are also underway father north, as thousands of Kurdish troops have launched attacks to regain villages near the IS-held town of Mosul.

Across the border in Syria, a US-backed alliance of Kurdish and Arab forces say they have advanced into territory north of Raqqa, the de facto capital of ISIL.