Iraqi soldiers have targeted Islamic State militants in the eastern districts of Mosul, as part of their wider operation to recapture the city. The soldiers fired rockets towards militants southeast of Mosul, then stormed the Intisar neighbourhood in the city, killing several militants along the way.

Residents reported that heavy explosions shook eastern districts of the city. Fleeing residents said there had been heavy mortar fire launched by retreating Islamic State fighters. The fall of Mosul would mark Islamic State's effective defeat in Iraq.

The city, sometimes described as Iraq's second largest, is many times bigger than any other Islamic State has ever captured. It was from the city's Grand Mosque that the group's leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared a "caliphate" that also spans parts of Syria.