Government advance against IS in Mosul slows

The advance of government troops slowed yesterday in the last push to drive Islamic State group militants from remaining pockets of Mosul, two Iraqi military officers said.

On Saturday, Us-backed Iraqi forces began a new offensive to recapture the Old City from three directions. Hours after announcing the push, the government said two military officers were killed in clashes in the Shafaa district on the Tigris River.

IS militants have deployed snipers, suicide car bombers and suicide attackers on foot, the officers said. They described the advance on Mosul’s Old City as “cautious” and the clashes yesterday as “sporadic”.

The troops captured Ibn Sina hospital, part of the sprawling medical complex in the district of Shafaa.