A prominent "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant" (ISIL) element who issued a fatwa allowing the shelling of liberated areas in Mosul, was killed, the Joint Operations Command said Sunday (December 18th).

"Our intelligence sources have confirmed that terrorist Abu Ayoub al-Mufti, ISIL mufti in Mosul who issued a fatwa allowing ISIL terrorists to shell the liberated areas of eastern Mosul, was killed by local residents in the city," the Command said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the army and Counter-Terrorism Service keep advancing on Mosul, Ninawa Operations Commander Nejim Eddin Karim al-Jubury told Diyaruna Monday.

"We are today trying to open a passage to Tigris River in central Mosul. This is a new achievement for the Iraqi forces, as fighting is now taking place in the heart of eastern Mosul," al-Jubury said.

The number of people displaced from Mosul since the start of the military operations has now reached 120,000, Iraq’s Ministry of Migration and Displacement said on Monday.

"Our field teams continue to receive families displaced from Mosul and provide them with suitable shelter and aid," the ministry said in a statement. "We are also raising the number of doctors in each camp."