Nearly three weeks into the last phase of the battle for Mosul, Iraqi forces have started pushing into the most heavily fortified and lethal corners of the crumbling city. A statement released by Iraqi Rapid response teams said units were “very close” to the government buildings near the old city. Photograph: Goran Tomasevic/ReutersAs the fighting has intensified, so too has the displacement of west Mosul residents, with more than 45,000 fleeing in the past week – a higher number than expected. Isis used chemical weapons earlier in the war, firing shells containing chlorine and other chemicals at Kurdish troops to the north of the city. It has also been accused by the Organisation for the Prevention of Chemical Weapons of using mustard gas against a rebel community in northern Syria early last year.

Source: The Guardian March 05, 2017 14:20 UTC