Bahrain Mirror - Reuters: Iraq's army said it encircled Islamic State's stronghold in the Old City of Mosul on Tuesday after taking over an area to the north of the densely populated historic district.

The army's 9th armored division seized al-Shifaa district, which includes the city's main hospitals, alongside the western bank of the Tigris river, a military statement said.

The fall of Shifaa means the Old City in the eastern half of Mosul is now surrounded by U.S.-backed government forces, deployed north, west, south and east, across the river.

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