Iraq forces poised for Mosul airport assault

US-backed Iraqi security forces closing in on the Islamic State-held western half of Mosul stormed the city's main airport and a nearby military base on Thursday.

“Our forces started a major operation early this morning to storm the airport of Mosul and the Ghozlani base to dislodge Daesh (Islamic State) terrorists. We can confirm that the Mosul airport militarily has fallen and it’s a matter of short time to fully control it,” Sabah al-Numan, spokesperson of the Counter-Terrorism Service, was quoted by Reuters as saying in statements to Iraqi state TV.

Since ousting the militant group from eastern Mosul last month, Iraqi forces have sought to capture Mosul airport and the nearby al-Ghazlani military base on Mosul's southern outskirts and use them as a launchpad to retake the western half of the city.

The advance is part of a major assault that started five days ago to drive IS militants from the western half of Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city and the last remaining ISIS stronghold in the country.

The past few days have seen the forces bombarding the vicinity of both facilities and retaking the nearby al-Bouseif hills, leaving dozens of deaths among IS militants who reportedly evacuated them after collapses in their defense lines.

Since the operation began on Sunday, Iraqi forces say they have retaken nearly 50 square miles south of the city.

Army and police commanders said earlier today they recaptured the villages of Yarmouk and Kharba near the airport.

"Around 480 people displaced from Al-Yarmuk area are being transferred to liberated areas further south," the federal police said.

Iraqi forces have retaken a key checkpoint on the main Baghdad highway south of Mosul and the village of Al-Buseif, a natural citadel overlooking the airport and the south of the city.

Hashed al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilisation) paramilitary forces battled terrorists further west near the town of Tal Afar, which is between Mosul and the Syrian border and still held by ISIS.

The Hashed al-Shaabi said they blew up at least four car bombs in fighting near Ain al-Tallawi and killed several IS members.