Iraqi advance on Mosul slows after day of fighting

GWER, Iraq — The pace of operations slowed Tuesday in the fight to retake Mosul from the Islamic State group, as Iraqi forces advancing to the east and south of the city began pushing toward larger villages and encountering civilian populations.

Iraqi army forces advanced to the south and east of Mosul, reaching the outskirts of al-Hamdaniyah, a historically Christian town also known as Bakhdida and Qaraqosh that was once home to tens of thousands, east of Mosul.

More than 25,000 troops have mobilized for the Mosul fight, a massive operation that’s expected to take weeks, if not months.

Iraq’s second largest city is still home to more than a million people, and humanitarian groups have warned that up to a million could be forced to flee, unleashing a large-scale humanitarian crisis.

A Pentagon spokesman said more than 100 U.S. troops are embedded with Iraqi forces and the peshmerga.