In Iraq, a military operation to recapture the Iraqi city of Mosul from Islamic State terror group has begun, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi says. Mr Abadi said in an address broadcast on state television in the early hours of today that the time of victory has come and operations to liberate Mosul have started. Today I declare the start of these victorious operations to free you from the violence and terrorism of Daesh, he said, using another name for IS. An offensive to retake the city, Iraq's second largest, has been planned for months. Mosul has been under IS control since June 2014. <br/><br/>The UN has warned that the humanitarian impact could be enormous, and possibly affect up to 1.2 million people living in and around the city. According to the United Nations, the ongoing fighting between Iraqi forces and IS has displaced more than three million Iraqis and left an estimated 10 million in need of humanitarian assistance. The UN has described the country's crisis as one of the world's worst.<br/><br/>US Secretary of Defense Ash Carter has said that operations to retake the Iraqi city of Mosul from the Islamic State group is a decisive moment in the campaign to deliver ISIL a lasting defeat. Carter promised continued support for Iraq.<br/><br/>He emphasised that the United States and the rest of the international coalition stand ready to support Iraqi Security Forces, Peshmerga fighters and the people of Iraq in the difficult fight ahead.<br/><br/>The northern city was where IS supremo Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi publicly proclaimed a "caliphate" straddling Iraq and Syria in June 2014.<br/><br/>With the support of Iran and a US-led coalition, Iraqi forces have since regained much of the ground lost to IS and Mosul is the group's last major stronghold in Iraq.<br/><br/>Meanwhile the UN deputy Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief voiced grave concern at risks faced by civilians as operations to retake the Iraqi city of Mosul began. Stephen O'Brien said that the UN is 'extremely concerned' for 1.5 million civilians in Mosul who may be affected by military operations to retake the city from ISIL. With the support of Iran and a US-led coalition, Iraqi forces have since regained much of the ground lost to IS.

In Iraq, a military operation to recapture the Iraqi city of Mosul from Islamic State terror group has begun, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi says. Mr Abadi said in an address broadcast on state television in the early hours of today that the time of victory has come and operations to liberate Mosul have started. Today I declare the start of these victorious operations to free you from the violence and terrorism of Daesh, he said, using another name for IS. An offensive to retake the city, Iraq's second largest, has been planned for months. Mosul has been under IS control since June 2014. <br/><br/>The UN has warned that the humanitarian impact could be enormous, and possibly affect up to 1.2 million people living in and around the city. According to the United Nations, the ongoing fighting between Iraqi forces and IS has displaced more than three million Iraqis and left an estimated 10 million in need of humanitarian assistance. The UN has described the country's crisis as one of the world's worst.<br/><br/>US Secretary of Defense Ash Carter has said that operations to retake the Iraqi city of Mosul from the Islamic State group is a decisive moment in the campaign to deliver ISIL a lasting defeat. Carter promised continued support for Iraq.<br/><br/>He emphasised that the United States and the rest of the international coalition stand ready to support Iraqi Security Forces, Peshmerga fighters and the people of Iraq in the difficult fight ahead.<br/><br/>The northern city was where IS supremo Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi publicly proclaimed a "caliphate" straddling Iraq and Syria in June 2014.<br/><br/>With the support of Iran and a US-led coalition, Iraqi forces have since regained much of the ground lost to IS and Mosul is the group's last major stronghold in Iraq.

In Iraq, a military operation to recapture the Iraqi city of Mosul from Islamic State terror group has begun, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi says. Mr Abadi said in an address broadcast on state television in the early hours of today that the time of victory has come and operations to liberate Mosul have started. Today I declare the start of these victorious operations to free you from the violence and terrorism of Daesh, he said, using another name for IS. An offensive to retake the city, Iraq's second largest, has been planned for months. Mosul has been under IS control since June 2014. <br/><br/>The UN has warned that the humanitarian impact could be enormous, and possibly affect up to 1.2 million people living in and around the city. According to the United Nations, the ongoing fighting between Iraqi forces and IS has displaced more than three million Iraqis and left an estimated 10 million in need of humanitarian assistance. The UN has described the country's crisis as one of the world's worst.<br/><br/>US Defence Secretary Ash Carter said that the United States and the rest of the US-led international coalition stand ready to support Iraq in the difficult fight ahead, as Baghdad announced its offensive to retake Mosul from Islamic State. Carter said in a statement, using an acronym for Islamic State, this is a decisive moment in the campaign to deliver ISIL a lasting defeat.