Iraqi forces launch operation to seize last Islamic State enclave in Mosul

Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) fire towards Islamic State militants during a battle on the outskirts of Al-Ba'aj, west of Mosul, Iraq May 26, 2017. REUTERS/Stringer

BAGHDAD/MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraqi armed forces launched an operation on Saturday to capture the last Islamic State-held enclave in Mosul, according to a military statement.

The fall of the city would, in effect, mark the end of the Iraqi half of the "caliphate" declared nearly three years ago by Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, which also covers parts of Syria.