Iraqi Kurdish Forces Advance on Mosul; Mass Grave Found

ISIS has carried out a series of massacres since seizing large swathes of southern and central Iraq in 2014.

Iraqi special forces soldiers try to find cover as they take fire from Islamic State militants in Gogjali, an eastern district of Mosul, Iraq. (Photo: AP)

Iraqi Kurdish fighters exchanged heavy fire with militants on Monday as they entered a town held by ISIS in the east of Mosul, while troops advancing south of the city discovered a mass grave containing some 100 decapitated bodies.

The offensive to reclaim the town of Bashiqa is part of the broader push to drive ISIS out of Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city, relieving those living under its occupation from brutalities that the group has committed.

ISIS militants have carried out a series of massacres since seizing large swathes of southern and central Iraq in the summer of 2014, often documenting them with photos and videos circulated online.

Kurdish Forces Start Offence

The offensive to retake Bashiqa began at dawn with a Kurdish barrage of heavy artillery, Katyusha rockets and mortar rounds slamming into ISIS positions, providing cover for the advance of armoured columns.

"We have the coordinates of their bases and tunnels, and we are targeting them from here in order to weaken them so that our forces can reach their targets more easily," said Iraqi Kurdish commander Brigadier General Iskander Khalil Gardi.

Kurdish Peshmerga fighters and commanders overlook Islamic State group positions during heavy fighting in Bashiqa. (Photo: AP)

Bashiqa, which is believed to be largely deserted except for dozens of ISIS fighters, is located about 13 kilometres northeast of Mosul's outskirts and about 20 kilometres from the city centre. Iraqi government and Kurdish forces, backed by a US-led coalition and joined by government-sanctioned militias, are fighting to drive ISIS out of those surrounding areas and open additional fronts to attack Mosul itself.

On Mosul’s southern front, meanwhile, Iraqi soldiers advancing into Hamam al-Alil, some 20 kilometres from the city centre, discovered a mass grave late Monday containing some 100 decapitated bodies near the town’s agricultural college.

Most were reduced to skeletons, said Brigadier General Yahya Rasool, the spokesperson for the Joint Military Command.

He said a forensics team from Baghdad would investigate the site on Tuesday.

Seven members of the same family are buried after their house was hit by an airstrike late last month, in Faziliya, north of Mosul. (Photo: AP)

Earlier Monday, army spokesperson Brigadier Firas Bashar said Iraqi forces had retaken the town and images broadcast by the Lebanon-based Al-Mayadeen network showed soldiers hoisting the Iraqi flag on a rooftop in the town. Other reports, however, said fighting still continued and that ISIS fighters remained in several areas.

Iraqi special forces entered Mosul last week and have made some progress in gaining a foothold on the city’s eastern edges. But progress inside the city has been slowed as troops push into more densely populated areas.

The troops are suffering casualties as the militants target them with suicide car bombs and booby traps in close-quarters fighting along the city's narrow streets. ISIS still holds territory to the north, south and west of Mosul, its last major urban stronghold in Iraq.

Civilians Flee Mosul

Civilians were fleeing Mosul in growing numbers as Iraqi forces struggle to solidify gains in neighbourhoods in the eastern part of the city, said special forces Lieutenant Colonel Hussein Aziz.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation said it has set up 82 "rapid response teams" to manage risks of epidemics, chemical exposure and other health worries among people fleeing Mosul.

The UN agency said water and sanitation in camps for the displaced could face disruptions as the number of people fleeing the city grows, raising the risk of food- and water-borne diseases such as cholera. It also said that additional concerns include children who reportedly haven't been immunised since ISIS seized control of Mosul in June 2014.