Iraqi forces make new push towards Mosul’s Old City

Iraqi forces launched a new attack against Islamic State in Mosul's Old City on Sunday, military officials said.

Mosul, Iraq's second biggest city, was captured by the Sunni Muslim fighters in 2014, but government forces have retaken much of it during a six-month operation.

However, the advance has hardly moved for more than a month, as the IS militants are holding out in the densely populated Old City in western Mosul, where tanks and heavy vehicles are unable to operate because of its narrow streets.

Iraq's federal police moved forces 200 meters deeper into the Old City, getting closer to al-Nuri mosque, a statement said.

The mosque is highly symbolic because it was there that IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared himself head of a self-proclaimed caliphate.

Iraqi troops have had the centuries-old mosque with its leaning minaret in their sights since last month.

A captain in the federal police said that Sunday's advance had started in the early morning with troops fighting the militants house to house.

 "Daesh suicide motorcycles now are their favorite weapon inside the Old City," he said, using a derogatory name for Islamic State. "We have to watch every single house to avoid attackers on motorcycles packed with explosives."

Some 400,000 people are trapped in the Old City while more than 300,000 have fled fighting since the operation started in October, officials have said.