Iraq: Refugees flee Gogjali as fighting intensifies in Mosul

Refugees fled Gogjali, a village just east of Mosul, for nearby Barzwaya, Friday, as fighting continued against forces of the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS; formerly ISIS/ISIL).
Iraqi government troops entered Mosul for the first time earlier this week, and have since tightened their strangehold on the city. Baghdad troops pushed further westwards into Mosul on Friday morning under the cover of artillery fire. Pushing off from Gogjali and Karama, Iraqi forces launched assaults on several neighbourhoods including Tahrir, Quds and Malayeen. Some media reports say units have managed to reach the Tigris River which runs through the centre of the city.
The offensive to recapture Mosul from IS started on October 17. Iraqi troops together with Kurdish and Shia militias, as well as the US-led coalition forces began to encircle Mosul and cut off supply lines. Overall around 50,000 anti-IS fighters are currently involved in the operation, but in Mosul only the Iraqi military is reportedly fighting on the ground.
Prior to the government attack, the leader of IS, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, allegedly issued a message in which he urged his supporters to stand their ground and make their enemies’ “blood flow like rivers." However the recording could not be verified independently.