Iraqi forces look west in bid to recapture Mosul

Iraqi forces have started preparing an offensive to capture the western side of Mosul from Islamic State, campaign commander Lt.-Gen. Abdul Ameer Rasheed Yarallah said.

Popular Mobilisation "is preparing an operation in the next two, three days, to back up the operation to retake the right bank" of the city, on the western side of the Tigris river, Mosuliya TV cited him as saying on Tuesday.

Popular Mobilisation is a coalition of predominantly Iranian-trained Shia groups, formed in 2014 to take part in the war on Islamic State. It became officially part of the Iraqi armed forces last year.

Iraqi officials on Monday announced that the eastern side of the northern Iraqi city has been taken from Islamic State, after nearly 100 days of fighting.

Meanwhile, the UN and several aid organizations say an estimated 750,000 civilians are still living under Islamic State rule in Mosul despite the recent advances by Iraqi forces.

Lise Grande, UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq, said in a statement Tuesday that the cost of food and basic goods is soaring, water and electricity are intermittent and that some residents are forced to burn furniture to keep warm.

The statement was co-signed by 20 international and local aid groups operating in the country.

The UN migration agency says the Mosul operation has displaced more than 140,000 people.