New York 20 Feb (ANA) - Iraqi forces have launched a long-awaited offensive to retake west Mosul, making cautious advances towards the city’s airport ahead of a push into heavily populated residential areas, where up to 3,000 Islamic State fighters have vowed to defend their last urban stronghold in Iraq. An estimated 650,000 civilians are trapped in the west of the city, and the UN said on Sunday that many people were “at extreme risk”, with fuel and food supplies dwindling and drinking water and electricity scarce. Plumes of smoke were seen as US airstrikes supported the early advance, which met limited resistance as forces probed areas of south and south-west Mosul. More dogged clashes are expected when troops near the urban centre, which is known to have been fortified by members of Isis’s elite fighting units.(ANA)

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