By Babak Dehghanpisheh and Maher Chmaytelli QAYYARA/BAGHDAD, Iraq (Reuters) – Islamic State fighters on Wednesday kept up their fierce defense of the southern approaches to Mosul, which has held up Iraqi troops on the southern front and forced an elite army unit east of the city to put its more rapid advance on hold. Ten days into what is expected to be the biggest ground offensive in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion of 2003, army and federal police units aim to dislodge the militants from villages in the region of Shora, 30 km (20 miles) south of Mosul. The frontlines in other areas have moved much closer to the edges of the city, the last major stronghold under control of the militants in Iraq, who have held it since 2014.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/islamic-state-holds-iraqi-army-south-mosul-113823305.html