Isis has continued to launch attacks in the heavily fortified capital, even after losing most of the northern and western territory of the country it seized in 2014.
The recapture of Mosul would probably spell the end for the group’s self-styled caliphate, but the militants would still be capable of fighting a guerrilla-style insurgency in Iraq, and of plotting or inspiring attacks on the west.
The second phase of a US-backed offensive launched on Thursday following weeks of deadlock has encountered fierce resistance. Conventional US forces deploying more extensively in this phase are now visible close to the frontlines. The third day saw heavy clashes on the south-eastern and northern fronts.
An elite interior ministry unit continued to push through the Intisar district on Saturday. A US-trained army unit had struggled to advance into the area after entering the south-east district last month.
Heavy gunfire was audible and attack helicopters fired overhead as hundreds of civilians fled their homes, a Reuters camera operator said.
In the north, a separate army unit pressed towards Mosul’s city limits after recapturing several outlying villages in the past two days.
“There is a battle in Argoob area, which is considered the gateway to Hadba,” Lt Col Abbas al-Azawi said, referring to a strategic northern neighbourhood.
The campaign to retake Mosul began on 17 October and is the biggest ground operation in the city since the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein. Forces have retaken a quarter of the city, and Iraq’s prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, has said Isis will be driven out of Iraq by April.
Although the militants are vastly outnumbered, they have embedded themselves among Mosul residents. Despite food and water shortages, most civilians have stayed in their homes rather than fleeing as expected.
One resident said late on Friday that a rocket had landed on a house in the eastern Mithaq district, killing six members of one family.
“We have not seen Daesh since the Iraqi forces restarted their offensive,” he said, refering to Isis by its Arabic acronym. “We hear the sounds of large car bombs. Today I heard no fewer than 10 huge explosions.”
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