Iraqi forces fight ISIS street-to-street in Mosul as civilians flee

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Iraqi forces were fighting ISIS street-to-street in eastern Mosul on Thursday, as civilians continued to flee to the safety of the Kurdistan Region.

Clashes were ongoing in four neighborhoods, where people were raising white flags above their homes to indicate they are civilians and avoid being targeted by mistake by Iraqi forces, Rudaw’s Hevidar Ahmed reported from the eastern Mosul neighborhood of al-Zahra.

He reported the militants were burning tires that were raising thick plumes of smoke, in an effort to hide from airstrikes.

Rudaw cameras showed clouds of thick smoke above al-Zahra, days after Iraqi forces said they had liberated one-third of eastern Mosul.

As the Iraqi army pushed deeper into the city, hundreds of civilians were fleeing to Kurdistan, most accompanied by their livestock, AP reported.

An estimated 300 people fled Mosul and its outskirts on Wednesday, making their way to Omer Qamchi, a village northeast of Mosul that was liberated late last month.