Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al Abadi has called on the US-coalition forces providing aerial support to prevent ISIL terrorists in the battle of Mosul fleeing the region towards Syria.

Iranian Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs Mahmoud Goudarzi has stepped down after more than three years in office, a ministry official says.

Reports announce the latest changes between the warring sides in the battle for Mosul: Iraqi army, volunteer Shia and Sunni forces, Kurdish Peshmerga forces against ISIL terrorist group who have been held the city since 2014.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says all obstacles in the way of the expansion of cooperation between the Islamic Republic and the European Union must be removed.

American officials have warned of ISIL’s possible use of chemical weapons in the fight to keep control of Mosul.