Federal police forces drive a military vehicle during an operation against Islamic State militants in Qayyara, south of Mosul October 26, 2016. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani
QAYYARA/BAGHDAD, Iraq (Reuters) - Islamic State fighters kept up on Wednesday their fierce defence of the southern approaches to Mosul, which has held up Iraqi troops there and forced an elite army unit east of the city to put a 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.
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