Reuter news reported Iraqi special forces stormed a sprawling university complex in northeast Mosul on Friday and pushed Islamic State back in nearby areas to reach two more bridges across the Tigris River, the military said.
The militants were fighting back at Mosul University, which they seized when they took over the city in 2014. A Reuters reporter saw heavy clashes inside the campus.
Iraqi forces have now recaptured most districts in eastern Mosul, nearly three months into a U.S.-backed offensive, which accelerated at the turn of the year with new tactics and better coordination.
They aim to take full control of the eastern bank of the Tigris, which bisects Mosul from north to south, before launching attacks on the western side still fully in Islamic State hands.
Driving the ultra-hardline Islamist group out of its Mosul stronghold will probably spell the end for the Iraqi side of the caliphate it declared in 2014 which stretches into Syria.
By late on Friday, elite Iraqi forces had taken control of part of the university complex and reached two more of the five bridges that link east and west Mosul, said Sabah al-Numan, spokesman for the counter-terrorism service (CTS).
"God willing, in a very short while we will announce the clearing of the entire left bank ... There are not many areas left (under IS control) on this bank," he told state television.
Iraqi forces have now reached Mosul's three southernmost bridges, having battled their way to the Fourth Bridge several days ago.
The U.S.-led coalition that is backing the offensive with air strikes, training and advice praised Friday's advances.
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