US-backed Iraqi Forces Retake Mosul Airport

February 24, 2017 1:55 AM

Fighting rages on as U.S.-backed Iraqi forces battle Islamic State militants for control of the airport in Mosul, Iraq, Feb. 23, 2017. (K. Omar/VOA)

Iraqi special forces prepare to battle Islamic State militants for control of the airport in Mosul, Iraq, Feb. 23, 2017. (K. Omar/VOA)

Rubble from a destroyed home litters the street in Abu Saif village, southwest Mosul, Feb. 23, 2017. (K. Omar/VOA)

Women and children flee as U.S.-backed Iraqi forces battle Islamic State militants for control of the airport in Mosul, Iraq, Feb. 23, 2017. (K. Omar/VOA)

Residents shop at Hammam Alil Market in Mosul, Iraq, in February 2017. (K. Omar/VOA)

A man makes kabobs at the market in Mosul, Iraq, in February 2017. (K. Omar/VOA)

Civilians pack their belongings and flee as Islamic State is driven out of the airport in Mosul, Iraq, Feb. 23, 2017. (K. Omar/VOA)

Iraqi forces arrive to battle Islamic State militants for control of the airport in Mosul, Iraq, Feb. 23, 2017. (K. Omar/VOA)

Islamic State militants left behind a vehicle bombed with chlorine explosives at the airport after being run out by U.S.-backed Iraqi forces in Mosul, Iraq, Feb. 23, 2017. (K. Omar/VOA)

Iraqi forces celebrate their victory over Islamic State militants as they hold the IS flag upside down in Mosul, Iraq, Feb. 23, 2017. (K. Omar/VOA)