Iraqi forces launch final assault on IS-held Mosul city

MOSUL, Iraq: Iraqi forces began storming the Islamic State-held Old City of Mosul on Sunday, an assault they hope will be the last in the eight-month campaign to seize the militants’ stronghold. The historic district is the last still under control of the militants in the city which used to be their capital in Iraq. It is a densely-populated maze of narrow alleyways where fighting is often conducted house by house. About 100,000 civilians remain trapped there in harrowing conditions, with little food, water and medicine and limited access to hospitals, according to the United Nations.