Status of main battle fronts in Iraq and Syria

Here is a look at the latest developments on the ground on the main fronts of the conflicts in Iraq and Syria, as of 1700 GMT on Sunday:

IRAQ

- Battle for Mosul -

Iraqi forces battled the Islamic State group deep in eastern Mosul, edging deeper towards the Tigris river that divides the city.

Since the October 17 start of a broad offensive to retake Mosul, Iraqi forces have recaptured several eastern neighbourhoods despite fierce jihadist resistance. Last week they were reported to be in control of 40 percent of eastern Mosul.

Iraqi forces are also within striking distance on northern and southern fronts, but there has been a halt in progress in recent days.

The Hashed al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilisation) paramilitaries, reaching the outskirts of the town of Tal Afar, to the west, gained more ground Sunday and seized small villages in remote areas southwest of Mosul.

SYRIA

- Raqa -

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a US-backed Kurdish-Arab alliance, is advancing in the desert as it tries to push closer to IS's de facto Syrian capital of Raqa.

The SDF has been battling the jihadists to drive them from positions some 25 kilometres (15 miles) north of the city.

- Battle for Aleppo -

More than 4,000 civilians have fled rebel-held districts after regime forces scored a major breakthrough on Saturday by capturing what had been the largest opposition-controlled neighbourhood, Masaken Hanano.

On Sunday, they also took the adjacent neighbourhoods of Jabal Badro and Baadeen.

The fighting moved to neighbouring districts, including Haidariya and Sakhur, with regime aircraft pounding rebel positions and heavy fighting between the opposition and forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.

Sakhur lies on a stretch of just 1.5 kilometres (less than a mile) between west Aleppo and Masaken Hanano. If the regime did manage to take control of the district, east Aleppo would be split in two from north to south, dealing a further blow to the armed opposition.

A least 219 civilians, including 27 children, have been killed in east Aleppo since the latest assault began on November 15, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Another 27 civilians, among them 11 children, have been killed in rebel fire on western Aleppo, it says.

- Other fronts -

Twenty-two pro-Ankara Syrian rebels were hit by an IS gas attack in northern Syria, the Turkish army said Sunday, the first time Turkey has accused the jihadists of chemical warfare.

It said the attack happened in the area of the village of Khaliliya, east of Al Rai in northern Syria, where the pro-Ankara fighters backed by Turkish special forces and air power are battling to dislodge the jihadists from the border area.

Syrian rebels backed by Turkish forces are inching closer to the IS stronghold of Al-Bab in Aleppo province, as they press Ankara's Operation "Euphrates Shield" to expel IS from the border area.

Source: AFP