Mosul: Iraqi government forces battling the Islamic State retook control of more areas in the old city centre of western Mosul, while an international airstrike on the IS positions killed six leaders of the extremist group in the city, the Iraqi military said on Sunday.

The commandos of the Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) fought heavy clashes against the IS militants during the day and freed the neighbourhood of Nablus in west of the old city centre and raised the Iraqi flags over some of its buildings, Abdul-Amir Yarallah from the Joint Operations Command (JOC) said in a statement, Xinhua reported.