Iraq's military on Wednesday urged residents to shelter in their homes in jihadist-held areas of Mosul, where its bid to oust the Islamic State group has taken a heavy toll on civilians.

Iraqi forces are battling to recapture west Mosul from IS, killing and wounding hundreds of civilians and pushing more than 200,000 to leave their homes.

The government has encouraged residents not to flee during the fighting -- a policy aimed at easing ease the burden of widespread displacement but which can heighten the risk of injury or death for civilians.

"Iraqi air force aircraft dropped hundreds of thousands of leaflets... containing procedures and recommendations for citizens" in west Mosul and other IS-held areas, said Iraq's Joint Operations Command.

These included "remaining inside houses and staying away from known (IS) sites such as headquarters, checkpoints, artillery positions and barracks, because they will be targets for our aircraft.

"Aerial bombing will target (IS) gangs and not civilians," it said in a statement.

But irrespective of whether or not they are directly targeted, residents still can and have been the victims of strikes aimed at IS fighters who are deployed in areas still populated by hundreds of thousands of civilians.

The US-led coalition carrying out strikes against IS -- which has admitted that it "probably" played a role in recent civilian casualties in Mosul -- has said that the militants are surreptitiously forcing civilians into homes and then seeking to encourage air strikes on them.

IS has repeatedly targeted civilians with snipers, bombs and shelling in and around Mosul, and seized them for use as human shields.

The United Nations has said more than 300 civilians have been killed in the fighting during the west Mosul offensive, which began in February.

UN human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein called on Iraqi and US-led coalition forces "to undertake an urgent review of tactics to ensure that the impact on civilians is reduced to an absolute minimum."

Amnesty International said field research in east Mosul -- which was recaptured from IS in January -- showed "an alarming pattern of US-led coalition air strikes which have destroyed whole houses with entire families inside".

"The high civilian toll suggests that coalition forces... have failed to take adequate precautions to prevent civilian deaths, in flagrant violation of international humanitarian law," said Amnesty's Donatella Rovera.

IS overran large areas north and west of Baghdad in 2014, but Iraqi forces have since recaptured much of the territory that was lost to the jihadists.

US expands northern Syria airfield for huge cargo plane
Washington (AFP) April 4, 2017 - The United States has expanded a runway at a northern Syria air base to accommodate the large C-17 military plane needed to help with logistics for the push to retake the IS stronghold of Raqa, a US defense official said Tuesday.

The huge military air freighter will play an essential role in supplying the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) as they mount an offensive to retake the city, the Islamic State group's last big stronghold in Syria.

The US military has in recent weeks sent hundreds of extra troops into Syria, including a Marine artillery contingent that is targeting Raqa.

The airstrip near the Kurdish town of Kobane was first used by a C-17 in December, the military's Central Command spokesman Colonel John Thomas said.

"It's a very important logistical hub for the Raqa operation," Thomas told AFP, in public comments confirming a story that first appeared in the Stars and Stripes military newspaper.

The C-17 can carry "all of the small armored technical vehicles and small armored infantry vehicles that are in play and authorized to move into the region," he added.

Thomas said the improved air base, located about 90 miles (145 kilometers) north of Raqa, is not dissimilar from another base the US helped expand near Mosul in Iraq ahead of the fight for that city.

"Air lift and logistics are important for supporting our partner forces on the ground -- this is the kind of capability that is helping a lot," Thomas said.

The SDF launched its offensive for the city of Raqa in November, seizing around two-thirds of the surrounding province, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group.

At their closest point, they are just eight kilometers (five miles) from the city, to the northeast.

The Pentagon is arming and training the SDF, but questions remain over how much support the United States should give the Kurdish component of the alliance, given concerns from Turkey, which views the Kurdish fighters as "terrorists."

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Trump son-in-law Kushner visits Iraq, meets PM
Baghdad (AFP) April 3, 2017
President Donald Trump's son-in-law and top aide Jared Kushner visited Baghdad Monday with the US's top military officer, meeting Iraq's premier to discuss the fight against the Islamic State group. The visit comes as Iraqi forces battle to retake Mosul from IS with support from US-led air strikes that have recently been criticised for causing civilian deaths in the city's west. Prime Mi ... read more

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