Combat ahead is likely more difficult because 1.5m residents remain

An elite unit of the Iraqi army paused its weeklong advance on Mosul as it approached the city's eastern edge on Tuesday, waiting for other US-backed forces to close in on the Islamic State group's last major urban stronghold in Iraq.

France said on Wednesday it had extended the mission of its aircraft carrier, the Charles de Gaulle, in the eastern Mediterranean until mid-December to help the offensive against the IS group in Mosul.