Abdelghani al-Assadi

Iraqi forces battled jihadists inside Mosul for the third day running yesterday while civilians risked their lives dodging bombs and snipers to slip out of the city.

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)put up fierce resistance to defend the city it seized more than two years ago and also claimed responsibility for deadly suicide attacks further south.

As Iraqi forces were inching closer to Mosul, the Western defense chiefs from the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) met in Paris to review the offensive on the jihadist bastion.