After gunmen killed the general secretary of Hizbollah Iraq's Basra branch, and amidst a spate of IED bombings, paramilitary groups threatened to take security matters into their own hands.

From a stronghold in the Hamrin mountains, IS guerrillas launch more deadly raids, hitting security forces and energy infrastructure.

With IS militants purged from the eastern half of the city, security forces prepare for the next phase of battle while residents strive to recover from two months of urban warfare.

Despite losing ground in Mosul, IS militants to the east have stepped up insurgent attacks, conducting deadly raids on security forces, oil infrastructure, and rural villages.

Pushing into Mosul's eastern suburbs, special forces are weathering deadly counter-attacks as they gird for weeks of tough urban warfare.