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Mosul offensive: Iraqi forces storm airport in bid to retake city | |
(35 minutes later) | |
Iraqi security forces have launched an attack on Mosul airport, a key part of the government's offensive to drive so-called Islamic State (IS) militants from the western half of the city. | |
They also stormed the nearby al-Ghazlani military camp, where fierce clashes were under way, AP reported. | |
The runway has already been destroyed by IS, but seizing such a large site would help the Iraqi army control southern routes into Mosul. | |
Eastern Mosul was retaken last month. | |
The BBC's Quentin Sommerville, who is embedded with Iraqi forces, says they have reached the airport perimeter. | |
A military spokesman told Iraqia TV that simultaneous raids were being carried out on the airport and al-Ghazlani base to "distract" IS. | |
The airport and the al-Ghazlani base are on Mosul's southern outskirts on the western side of the Tigris river. | The airport and the al-Ghazlani base are on Mosul's southern outskirts on the western side of the Tigris river. |
Leaflets warning residents of an imminent offensive were earlier dropped over western Mosul, where military officials say narrow winding streets could make retaking the area particularly difficult. | |
Although slightly smaller than the east, western Mosul is more densely populated and includes districts seen as pro-IS. | |
The UN has voiced concern about the welfare of civilians trapped in the city, amid reports that they could number up to 650,000. | |
More than 160,000 people have already fled their homes in and around the city. | |
The UN said in late January that almost half of all the casualties in Mosul were civilians. | |
All bridges linking the east and west of the city, across the Tigris river, have been destroyed by air strikes. | |
IS jihadists overran Mosul as they spread across much of northern and western Iraq in 2014. |