Iraqi forces seize Iron Bridge in battle for Mosul

Iraqi government forces battling ISIS militants in Mosul on Wednesday took control of the Iron Bridge linking the eastern sector with the ISIS-held Old City, federal police said.

Federal police and Interior Ministry Rapid Response units seized the bridge, a police statement said, quoting a commander. The government now hold three of the five bridges crossing the Tigris river which bisects Mosul.

Nearly 100,000 Iraqis have fled the battle to retake west Mosul from ISIS, the International Organization for Migration said on Wednesday.

Iraqi forces launched a major push last month to recapture west Mosul, which is the most populated urban area still held by ISIS, with an estimated 750,000 residents when the battle began.

Between February 25 and March 15, more than 97,000 people have been displaced from west Mosul, the IOM said on its official Twitter account.

Displaced residents from Mosul's al-Nasser neighbourhood evacuate the area on March 14, 2017 as Iraqi forces continue to advance in the embattled city combatting Islamic State (IS) group jihadists. (AFP)

It marks an increase of around 17,000 from the displacement figure the IOM released the previous day, though this does not necessarily indicate that all of those additional people fled in the past 24 hours.

According to the IOM, more than 238,000 people are currently displaced due to fighting in the Mosul area, while more fled but later returned to their homes.