Iraqi army helicopters fired rockets at Islamic State positions in Mosul's Old City today as troops on the ground closed in on the strategic and symbolic prize of the al-Nuri Mosque. Government forces have cleared the east and half of western Mosul and are now focused on controlling the Old City. A police commander said they are very close to taking control of the city.<br/><br/>According to reports, more residents are fleeing the liberated areas due to scarcity of food and water, fragile security and fear of being caught in cross shelling.<br/><br/>The battle to recapture Islamic State's last stronghold in Iraq has now entered its sixth month. Recent fighting has targeted the centuries-old al-Nuri Mosque, with its famous leaning minaret. Reports say, its capture would be a blow for Islamic State as it was from there that IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared a caliphate in July 2014 after the hardline militants had seized swathes of Iraq and Syria.<br/>