An Iraqi offensive to take back Mosul from ISIL gained new momentum with an armoured division trying to advance into the city from the northern side. <br/><br/>The Iraqi army's 9th Armoured Division and Rapid Response units of the interior ministry opened a new front today in the northwest of the city against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. <br/><br/>The armed group is now besieged in the northwestern corner of Mosul, which includes the historic Old City centre and the medieval Grand al-Nuri Mosque and its landmark leaning minaret, where their black flag has been flying since June 2014.