Iraqi troops push into outskirts of Mosul

Iraqi forces have reached the southern outskirts of Mosul on the second day of a new push to drive Islamic State militants from the western half of the city.

Iraqi helicopters were seen firing rockets at the village of Abu Saif, mainly at a hill that overlooks the city’s airport and provides the militants with a natural defence line on the southern approaches to Mosul.

Under President Donald Trump’s deadline, his defence secretary James Mattis has just a week to prepare a strategy to accelerate the fight and defeat IS. Any plan is likely to depend on US and coalition troops working with local forces in both Iraq and Syria.

“We’re going to make certain that we’ve got good situational awareness of what we face as we work together and fight alongside each other,” Mr Mattis said.