Status of main battle fronts

Here are the latest developments on the main battle fronts in Syria and Iraq, as of 1730 GMT on Monday:

SYRIA

- Battle for Aleppo -

The crucial battle for Aleppo entered what the army called its "final phase" on Monday after Syrian rebels retreated into a small pocket of their former bastion in the face of new army advances.

President Bashar al-Assad's forces held more than 90 percent of the onetime opposition stronghold of east Aleppo, a monitor and military official said, and appeared on the verge of retaking the entire city.

An estimated 130,000 people have poured out of east Aleppo since late November, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The monitor said on Monday that 10,000 of those had fled rebel areas in the previous 24 hours.

The government assault on Aleppo has killed at least 415 civilians since it began in mid-November, according to the Observatory. 

Another 130 civilians have been killed by rebel fire into the city's west over the same period, it says.

The fall of Aleppo would be the worst rebel defeat since Syria's conflict began in 2011, and leave the government in control of the country's five major cities.

- Raqa -

A US-backed alliance said on Saturday it would launch the second phase of its battle for the Islamic State jihadist group's de facto Syrian capital of Raqa, which is east of Aleppo.

Backed by air strikes from the US-led coalition, members of the Syrian Democratic Forces have pushed south from areas near the Turkish border, advancing to within 25 kilometres (15 miles) of the city.

Washington has announced it is sending an additional 200 troops to join the 300 it has already deployed to support the campaign for Raqa.

- Palmyra -

In central Syria, IS recaptured all of the desert city of Palmyra on Sunday, sparking new concerns about the remaining ancient treasures at the UNESCO World Heritage site.

IS retaking Palmyra has given the jihadist group an important propaganda boost as it faces offensives against its two most important bastions -- Raqa and Iraq's Mosul.

The Syrian army backed by air strikes from regime ally Russia had expelled the jihadists from Palmyra in March, after IS first seized the city in May 2015. 

IRAQ

- Battle for Mosul -

In Iraq, Hashed al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilisation) paramilitaries battled IS southwest of Mosul on a front aimed at cutting the jihadists' supply lines to Syria.

Pro-government forces launched an assault on October 17 to eject IS from its last Iraqi stronghold, and they have taken almost half of eastern Mosul.

The elite Counter-Terrorism Service now controls several eastern neighbourhoods and is closing in on the river Tigris that divides the city.

Federal police and interior ministry forces have mostly been fighting on a southern front, which has stalled within striking distance of Mosul airport south of the city.

The United Nations says a total of 90,000 people have been displaced as a result of the Mosul operation.

Source: AFP