Iraqi forces are advancing cautiously in Mosul out of fear for the lives of hundreds of thousands of civilians the "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant" (ISIL) is preventing from leaving, a senior military Iraqi commander said Thursday (December 15th).

"The liberation of Mosul is only a matter of time," Joint Iraqi Operations commander Lt. Gen. Abdul Amir Rashid Yar Allah, told Diyaruna.

"Iraqi forces are making huge successes on a daily basis. On Thursday, we made major progress in al-Nour and al-Muthanna neighbourhoods, and we are now moving towards the old city," he said.

"Civilians' safety is the number one concern for our forces," he said.

Meanwhile, a statement issued by the Iraqi Ministry of Defence Thursday said that 70 ISIL fighters, including senior elements, were killed in western Mosul.

"Acting on accurate intelligence, Iraqi air force targeted a gathering of ISIL terrorists south of Tal Abta area, western Mosul, 10 kilometres away from our units," the ministry said in the statement.

Twenty senior ISIL elements and 50 of their bodyguards were killed, the statement added.