MOSUL: ISLAMIC STATE COUNTERATTACKS

As Iraqi and Kurdish forces pushed ahead on Friday to seize territory around Mosul in preparation for an offensive on the Islamic State’s last major stronghold in Iraq, the terrorist group launched a major counter-attack on the city of Kirkuk The assault on Kirkuk, which lies in an oil- producing region, killed 18 members of the security forces and workers at a power station outside the city With air and ground support from the US-led coalition, Iraqi government forces captured eight villages south and southeast of Mosul. Kurdish forces attacking from the north and east also captured several villages Islamic State has taken 550 families from villages around Mosul and is holding them close to its locations in the city, probably as human shields, the United Nations human rights office said on Friday The fighting has forced 5,640 people to flee their homes so far from the vicinity of Mosul, the International Organisation for Migration said.

AFP/REUTERS A member of the Iraqi government forces takes position on top of a vehicle on the outskirts of Qayyarah area near Mosul during an operation against Islamic State; (top right) a displaced woman who fled from Mosul holds her baby at a camp in the...