Status of main battle fronts

Here are the latest developments on the main battle fronts in Iraq and Syria, as of 1700 GMT on Wednesday:

SYRIA

- Battle for Aleppo -

Rebels in Aleppo called for a five-day truce and the evacuation of civilians after losing more territory including the Old City to a Syrian army offensive.

Regime forces scored another important victory when the rebels retreated from the Old City, the historic heart of Aleppo, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group.

State media said government troops had taken control of the Bab al-Nayrab, Al-Maadi and Salhin neighbourhoods.

Remaining rebel-held districts were coming under heavy bombardment, an AFP correspondent in the area said. 

Pro-government forces now control around 80 percent of east Aleppo, the Observatory said, and at least 80,000 residents have fled their homes.

The monitor says at least 369 people have been killed in east Aleppo during the offensive, including 45 children.

Rebel fire on the government-held west of the city has killed 92 people, including 34 children, in the same period, the monitor says.

- Raqa -

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a US-backed Kurdish-Arab alliance, is trying to push closer to the Islamic State group's de facto Syrian capital of Raqa.

The SDF has been battling the jihadists to drive them from positions around 25 kilometres (15 miles) north of the city.

IRAQ

- Battle for Mosul -

Since starting an offensive on October 17 to oust the Islamic State group from its last Iraqi stronghold, pro-government forces say they have recaptured almost half of eastern Mosul and are edging towards the Tigris river that divides it.

The Iraqi army's 9th Armoured Division said it retook the Al-Salam hospital, the farthest it had penetrated in eastern Mosul, but it was met with fierce resistance from the jihadists and fighting is ongoing.

It called for backup from the elite Counter-Terrorism Service, which has spearheaded the push into Mosul from the east and on Wednesday retook the neighbourhood of Ilam.

The southern front has stopped moving north within striking distance of Mosul airport, while the northern front has also made little progress in recent days.

The Hashed al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilisation) paramilitary force has continued to gain ground in arid areas southwest of Mosul, retaking dozens of villages in the process.

According to the United Nations, a total of 82,000 people are currently displaced as a result of the Mosul operation.

Source: AFP