Civilian deaths, Old City fight force Mosul battle rethink

Snipers of the Iraqi federal police take their positions during clashes with Islamic State militants, in Mosul, Iraq March 25, 2017. Picture taken March 25, 2017. REUTERS/Khalid al Mousily

MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) - Perched in bombed-out apartments overlooking west Mosul, Iraqi police snipers have in the last few days advanced to within a few hundred metres of the mosque where Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al—Baghdadi declared his caliphate nearly three years ago.

Through holes knocked in walls, troops have a clear view of the al Nuri mosque's crooked, brown minaret and Islamic State's black flag on its white tip -- a hugely symbolic target in the battle to recapture Mosul now in its sixth month.