Status Of Main Battle Fronts In Iraq And Syria

BAGHDAD, , (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Nov, 2016 ) - 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 Tuesday: IRAQ ==== - Battle for Mosul - ==================== US-led coalition warplanes bombed a key bridge in the northern city of Mosul to isolate fighters of the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group in their major stronghold in Iraq, as a relative lull takes hold in fighting on the ground.

Since the October 17 start of a broad offensive to retake Mosul, Iraqi forces have already retaken several eastern neighbourhoods despite fierce jihadist resistance. On Tuesday, elite forces from the Counter-Terrorism Service secured most of the Aden neighbourhood.

West of Mosul, Hashed al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilisation) forces -- a paramilitary umbrella group dominated by Iran-backed Shiite militias -- pushed closer to Tal Afar and were less than four kilometres (2.5 miles) from the IS-held city.

Iraqi forces are also closing in on Mosul airport south of the city. Northeast of Mosul, Kurdish peshmerga fighters have dug in 10 kilometres (six miles) away after seizing the town of Bashiqa.

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 30 kilometres (18 miles) north of the city. - Battle for Aleppo - ===================== Syrian pro-government forces push deeper into rebel-held east Aleppo, forcing civilians to flee as the regime presses an assault to recapture the entire city.

A week into the latest round of fighting for the divided city, the regime now controls around a third of a key eastern district, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. At least 143 civilians, including 19 children, have been killed in east Aleppo since the latest assault began on November 15, the Syrian Observatory said.

Another 16 civilians, including 10 children, have been killed in rebel fire on western Aleppo, the Britain-based monitoring group said. Iran's veterans' affairs office says more than 1,000 combatants sent from Iran to fight in support of President Bashar al-Assad have been killed in Syria's five-year conflict.

Russia, another regime ally, announced the launch on November 15 of an air war against jihadists in the northern province of Idlib, which is mainly rebel-held, and in Homs in central Syria.