Iraqi special forces battling Islamic State have reached the eastern bank of the Tigris river in Mosul on Sunday for the first time in a three-month offensive to capture the city from the militants, who still control its entire western half.
The group also claimed attacks at two Baghdad markets in which 20 people were killed, the latest in a spate of bombings.
Units of Iraq's elite counter-terrorism service (CTS) have fought their way to the eastern bank of the Tigris, spokesman Sabah al-Numan said.
It was the first time Iraqi troops in the city itself have reached the river, which bisects Mosul, since the offensive to drive out Islamic State was launched in October.
CTS forces also clashed with Islamic State fighters near a historic site in eastern Mosul, a senior commander said, in a bid to drive them out of more neighbourhoods.
Hundreds of civilians fled their homes in nearby Muthana, which Iraqi forces recaptured two days ago in an unprecedented nighttime raid, crossing a tributary of the Tigris via a makeshift bridge made from dirt.
Mohamed, a 35-year-old resident, said his family had locked themselves in their house for the past 10 days to avoid being forced by Islamic State to retreat deeper into the city. They walked about 3 km across the front lines on Sunday despite mortar fire from the retreating militants.
"There is no bridge, the bridge is destroyed. There is a dirt thing below the bridge. We transported our belongings and our women and our families," said Mohamed.
Government-supplied electricity has cut off many in areas, but residents have begun using small generators. In some districts, they are cleaning the roads and rebuilding brick walls.
Meanwhile, in Baghdad, a suicide attacker killed 13 people when he drove an explosives-rigged car into vegetable market in the mainly Shi'ite Muslim eastern Jamila district, and detonated it, police said.
Islamic State claimed the attack in an online statement, saying it had targeted a "gathering of Shi'ites".
A few hours afterwards, a suicide bomber wearing an explosive vest blew himself up at a market in another mostly Shi'ite district, Baladiyat, killing seven, according to police and medical sources.
Islamic State claimed responsibility for that attack as well, according to the U.S. based SITE Intelligence Group.
