Terrified civilians flee fighting, often under Islamic State militant fire, as Iraqi forces battle their way within range of the city's government...Baghdad’s forces have overwhelming firepower and numbers in Mosul, but the Islamic State group has a vast city in which to launch ambushes, plant bombs and try to make the battle as slow and costly as possible. More than two months into the operation to retake the city, Iraqi forces have recaptured a large chunk of east Mosul, but IS still holds parts of it as well as all of its western side. In southeastern Mosul, a small explosion sounds behind the front line, sending a member of Iraq’s elite Rapid Response Division falling to the mud-covered ground, his legs wounded by shrapnel. Security forces members train assault rifles and machineguns skyward, unleashing a barrage of fire at the small white drone that apparently dropped the explosive device.
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