Civilians, some wounded, flee Mosul fighting

(25 Feb 2017) As Iraqi forces backed by US-led coalition air support continued to fight against Islamic State militants, thousands of civilians remain trapped in the fight for Mosul. A man was injured when what other people described as an airplane hit the house where he was staying with his family. He did not speculate if it was an aircraft or an armed drone, a weapon Islamic State fighters have been using more frequently in recent days, according to Iraqi commanders. Several coalition airstrikes targeted the city on Saturday. Hundreds fled Mosul on foot. They walked for miles from Iraq's second largest city's western districts towards safer villages in the south. More than 750,000 people are still believed to be in the city's west side of the River Tigris, the only part that remains under IS control. Iraqi forces declared eastern Mosul "fully liberated" in January. Troops on the ground have encountered fierce resistance as they push deeply into inhabited areas. IS fighters respond with car bombs, snipers and dozens of armed drones. Some mortars hit Al Rayan as families walked through the liberated neighbourhood in the late afternoon, killing at least one soldier. "Many drones and mortars fired by the enemy are both causing troubles," said Lt. Colonel Haider Ibrahim, of the Iraqi special forces. Similar to the way operations inside eastern Mosul initially unfolded, in west Mosul, IS repeatedly brought Iraqi convoys to a halt Saturday with small teams of one or two men and a handful of car bombs. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...