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Days after expanding the fight for of Mosul, Iraq's security forces are pushing further into the strategic city's western portion, focusing on its airport. Thousands of ISIS fighters are believed to be in Mosul, the extremist group's biggest stronghold in Iraq.

From Erbil, Iraq, NPR's Alice Fordham reports for our Newscast unit:

, ISIS leaders have disseminated a list of nearly 150 members who are wanted for arrest, because they fled in the face of fighting in Mosul.


Government forces entered the airport on the southern edge of the city for the first time since the Islamic State group overran the region in 2014, Iraqi News reports, citing state TV.


So far, government forces have been able to recapture the eastern half of the city that's divided by the Tigris River. The recent progress comes 

 a senior U.S. military official said Iraq's military was preparing to launch an offensive to take the city back.


When it was overrun by ISIS fighters in the summer of 2014, Mosul's population was around 2 million.


Announcing the new offensive Sunday, Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi said, "Our forces are beginning the liberation of the citizens from the terror of Daesh."  Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Inside western Mosul, a resident tells NPR that ISIS has forced residents to knock holes in their houses to create tunnels for the militants to use.

Fight for Mosul moves westward and centers on city's airport

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