Iraqi forces say they have recaptured six districts of eastern Mosul as the offensive to retake the city from Islamic State continues. It comes just a day after ISIL's leader told his followers there could be no retreat.

An officer from the elite Counter Terrorism Service, which has spearheaded the Mosul operation, said troops have launched a major offensive against militants who are now almost surrounded in their last major urban stronghold.

The United Nations Refugee Agency has opened a new camp at Hasansham in northern Iraq to cope with a sharp rise in the number of people fleeing fighting in the city. Around 8-thousand civilians have been displaced in the last day.